IT SEEMS unlikely Down will have veteran forward Benny Coulter back in time to help them stave off relegation from Division One.
The Irish News has learned the 2010 Allstar is concentrating on club football with Mayobridge under new manager Frank Dawson and won’t consider a return until he has some competitive game-time under his belt.
Coulter retired from inter-county football at the end of the 2014 season and, though he reconsidered that decision, he was not invited back into the fold by then manager Jim McCorry last year. McCorry was replaced by Eamonn Burns after just one season as Mourne manager and the Bryansford clubman hoped to entice Counter back into his panel.
It is understood Coulter did attend training for a time but, though Burns has expressed confidence he will feature for Down this season, he has played no part since. In his weekly newspaper column this week Coulter, called for the return of his clubmate Conor Garvey and Burren duo Declan Rooney and Dan McCartan, but made no mention of his own future.
However, there is a possibility he could make himself available for Down’s Ulster Senior Football Championship campaign if he finds form and fitness in the early season games with Mayobridge. The 'Bridge’ begin league action in Division One against Glenn on Friday, April 8 and travel to Kilcoo the following Monday. The third game of the season is against Bryansford on April 15 and, if Coulter is performing well, he may return, possibly with a role as an impact sub, for the Anglo-Celt campaign.
Meanwhile, speculation also surrounds Marty Clarke’s inter-county future. The An Riocht forward - also an Allstar in 2010 - suffers from Addison’s Disease, but played in Queen's University’s Dr McKenna Cup and Sigerson Cup campaigns. He is reported to be in good form for his club in pre-season, but hasn’t featured for Down since returning from Aussie Rules club Collingwood.
Without Coulter and Clarke, the Mourne men have lost three out of three this season and are rooted to the bottom of Division One. A heavy defeat to Donegal in their opening game was followed by a promising performance against Monaghan in Clones.
However, that optimism quickly evaporated after Kerry visited Pairc Esler last Sunday and inflicted a crushing 0-22 to 0-6 defeat that left Burns’ side struggling for confidence ahead of Sunday’s trip to Dr Hyde Park, where they face a Roscommon side that has acclimatised to top-flight football very quickly.
Kevin McStay’s Rossies have already taken the scalps of Cork and Kerry but, despite last Sunday’s loss, Burns remains optimistic: “It was very disappointing after our performance against Monaghan,” said the double Sam Maguire-winner.
“The boys were in very good form going into it. Sometimes, things are hard to explain in football. When you're playing in Division One, you're playing against top class opposition every day you go out.
“We have experienced players in the spine of the team and we have a lot of young fellas that have been brought in over the last couple of years, so they're finding their feet.
“We were a wee bit off the mark in a number of areas, which was disappointing because there was no indication that was coming and we'll see where we go.”
