IT’S a position that Crossmaglen have found themselves in more than any other team in the modern era, yet John McEntee insists there is no hard and fast rule for dealing with the Christmas break.
Eleven Ulster titles in the last 20 years have led them into winter trying to balance preparations for February’s All-Ireland club semi-final.
Back at the top of the tree in the northern province following November’s epic extra-time win over Scotstown, joint-manager McEntee has been down this path as both player and manager.
History would suggest that they’re not far away, given that they’ve reached the All-Ireland final on eight of the previous ten occasions they’ve emerged from Ulster.
A 12-week gap from the provincial final to Saturday’s meeting with Connacht champions Castlebar (who have had a 13-week break since dethroning All-Ireland champions Corofin) is a long time to wait.
“We didn’t really take much time off, we only took a week or so. We scaled down the training and changed it up a bit to try and keep the freshness in the legs, and then go back into the ball in the New Year.
“There’s no real magic formula,” says McEntee.
“We’ve tried going down different routes in different years. Some have worked and some haven’t. At the end of the day, you’re still 12 weeks without a competitive match.
“You’re coming into a semi-final of an All-Ireland not really knowing how prepared you are. A lot of it is down to the performance on the day.
“On February 13, if we win we’ll feel it worked, and if we didn’t win we’d probably blame it as the reason why.”
Crossmaglen were taken to extra-time by Scotstown before eventually scraping over the line, a week after Castlebar had upset the odds to beat a Corofin side that many expected to complete back-to-back All-Ireland titles.
“We always knew Castlebar and Corofin were going to get to the Connacht final. Castlebar beat the All-Ireland champions and that in itself is a fine achievement.
“Corofin were going well too. They’re a good, flowing side that plays excellent football. The workrate and the effort Castlebar put in that day was immense. They were deserving winners. Any team coming out of Connacht is going to be very strong.”
He and Oisin McConville are expecting to have a full deck to choose from on Saturday, with no major injury concerns hanging over the Armagh kingpins.
Castlebar’s midfield dominance against Corofin gave them the platform, with Mayo star Barry Moran contributing 1-2 on top of that in a superb display.
Crossmaglen have had their struggles in midfield throughout their campaign, with Scotstown dominating that sector in the Ulster decider.
How much they can get out of David McKenna in that area could be crucial, but McEntee says it is up to his team’s middle eight as a unit to stifle Castlebar.
“David’s worked hard over the winter and got himself back in a bit of shape, so he’s put himself in a good position.
“There’s no doubt that they’re very strong around midfield. They’re very big and very mobile. Their whole midfield unit – half-backs and half-forwards included – are a tremendous unit.
“Their half-backs attack a lot, and their half-forward line does a serious amount of work. That eight man unit is very good. They will be hard to break down.
“We’ll be hoping that our fellas will give Johnny [Hanratty] and Davy, or whoever’s going to be in there, a hand, and try to get a 50-50 split there.”
The manner of the provincial victories both sides achieved would ordinarily offer a slight advantage, but that is not the case here.
“They were two massive games. At that time of year, that potentially is your All-Ireland final. If you win it, you have 12 weeks to prepare for the next one.
“Both teams put their best forward and played their best football. You’re not thinking of your next game at that time, it’s just your Connacht final or your Ulster final. The next day’s a very different day.”
