LONGFORD stalwart Mickey Quinn believes that teams at the lower end of the scale “being realistic and open to change” is crucial to their long-term improvement.
The hugely talented former AFL star will be hoping to guide his county to a shock that would surpass anything they’ve done in the last 15 years when they welcome Tyrone to Pearse Park next Saturday.
Despite little long-term progress in the league or in Leinster, Longford have scalped Mayo, Monaghan, Derry and Down since the introduction of the qualifier system almost two decades ago.
But if a tiered system based on league positions is to be introduced, as expected, for the 2020 season then defeat by Tyrone will make this their last shot at a top flight team for a while.
Quinn has advocated the idea of a tiered championship in the past and while he admits a fear over what structure it will take, but says counties have to accept their standing.
“We’ve been lucky with our qualifier runs that we’ve got playing big teams and causing upsets here and there.
“One of things I’d know from being involved in meetings through the GPA and GAA on fixtures that Longford are a little bit of an exception to the rule in the qualifiers in terms of the streaks we’ve had, in comparison to other teams.
“Players need to take ownership and be realistic about things, would be my opinion.
“We’re not going to win an All-Ireland at the minute and if you don’t want to challenge for one, there’s an awful lot of things need to happen to get to that level.
“If there are systems put in place and changes made to improve as a county and individual players, you might start seeing that.
“Being realistic and open to change is the big thing that might be holding people back from wanting a tiered championship.”
Had they been beaten by Carlow last weekend, Longford’s year would have been over. It was their third game in three weeks, having sat on their hands since the end of the league in March.
Having seen their top scorer in the league, Darren Gallagher, opt off the championship panel to head to the States for the summer, Quinn believes more must be done to entice players to stay around.
“We’d have felt a win over Kildare was realistic and see after that, and then trying to get as many games in the qualifiers as possible.
“That’s where our goals are, trying to play as many championship games as possible.
“If we’d lost to Carlow, that would have been three games in three weeks and that’s the championship over. Only for the replay, it would have been two games in three weeks.
“When you look at the bigger picture, Darren Gallagher and fellas heading off to America and rightly so – it’s not about bringing in rules to prevent that from happening.
“Of course lads should be allowed do what they want and go travelling. It’s about a county having systems in place to keep them around, that they feel playing is rewardable and worth their while.
“When you play a league, then sit waiting for eight or ten weeks, back to the club for a month and then a bit of a mini pre-season for two games in three weeks, and your season’s over – it doesn’t make much sense.
“The training-to-games ratio doesn’t make sense there. That’s why you’re hoping a tiered system would cater for that, and for teams to improve, and for guys to want to be around a county setup.”
