MONAGHAN ace Paul Finlay has dismissed rumours he has called time on his inter-county career.
Instead, the veteran forward says he’s hoping to play some part in this year’s Championship campaign despite being unlikely to feature in any fixture during the league programme. Because of a calf injury, Finlay has been sidelined from competitive action since his Ballybay side came up short against Castleblayney Faughs in the quarter-finals of the Monaghan Championship last September.
As a result, he missed out on the Farney county’s entire McKenna Cup campaign last month and, also, the first round away league win over Roscommon last Sunday. But he still harbours a significant degree of hope that his days on the inter-county scene are not totally behind him.
“My calf gave me a bit of bother last year, but its condition has gradually improved and I’ve been training on my own since shortly after Christmas and things have been going well for me,” he pointed out on his injury situation.
“If things continue to go in a positive direction, I’d be hoping to get back training with the county panel sometime around the end of March, and we’d take it from there. Admittedly, that would leave it a bit tight for me to play any part in some of the league games, with the Division One programme set to finish on April 3 and the whole competition to be completed by April 24.
“But there would be a good bit of time before Monaghan’s opening Championship match against Down on June 5 and, all going well, I would be hopeful of playing some part in that match or some of the subsequent matches,” he added.
Despite featuring for Monaghan at senior level since back in 2003, the attacking ace says he still retains a passionate hunger to continue playing inter-county football: “This year, I’d be heading into my 14th season with Monaghan and I’ll be 33 next month,” pointed out the son of legendary Monaghan forward Kieran ‘Jap’ Finlay.
“And I suppose there aren’t too many players of that age still playing inter-county football. But from a personal point of view my appetite to play on for Monaghan is still very strong and I’d be hoping to give the Championship a right good rattle this year. Of course, it will depend on how I get on when I hopefully go back training with the county panel, and it will then be up to the team-management to make a decision in that regard,” he added.
Indeed, a telling indication of Finlay’s commitment to the Monaghan cause was vividly illustrated last Sunday, when, although not in the panel of players, he made the significant journey to Kiltoom, near Athlone, to watch Malachy O’Rourke’s charges face Roscommon.
“It was a very encouraging performance by the lads particularly as Roscommon were at home and we had a sizeable deficit to claw back in the second-half,” he enthused on the Ulster side’s 2-10 to 1-9 success.
“All in all, we could hardly have hoped for a more favourable start to the league.”
On Sunday, Monaghan will be strong favourites to collect another brace of points when they host a Down side who crashed to a 3-15 to 0-7 defeat by Donegal last Saturday night at Newry: “Of course, most people will fancy Monaghan to come out on top, but Down will be determined not to lose for the second time, and they could make it difficult for us,” he warned.
