FROM the off, Barry McFall is keen to put the issue to bed. It's been a rollercoaster few weeks for the Antrim senior hurlers - and not in a good way.
Allegations that stabbed at the very heart of McFall and his team-mates' integrity did the rounds on social media after his side's shock league defeat to London. So before talking about his side's chances in the Christy Ring Cup, the St Johns' clubman engages in some straight talking: "There was a lot of nonsense being written on social media sites.
"I don't read a lot of it but I was annoyed about what people were saying because I know it was lies, I know that there was no truth in it. A lot of peoples' reputations are at stake, people who put in a lot of time and effort for people to come out and talk complete and utter nonsense. Nobody who took the field with me against London had money on themselves to lose. I can guarantee you that. The players want to move on and put a bit of pride back into Antrim hurling."
But while the rumour mill rumbled on beyond their control, the Saffrons did have some real world issues to deal with. Manager PJ O'Mullan stood down from the job after less than five months in post - and less than four weeks before the Christy Ring Cup opener against Kildare on Saturday at Parnell Park.
An impressive interim management team of Dominic McKinley, Sambo McNaughton, Gary O'Kane and Neil Peden were rushed into place, and one of the first decisions they had to take was whether to forfeit home advantage in the first round of the Championship.
The Lillywhites were due to travel to Ballycastle for the Ring Cup showdown, but with Antrim's footballers playing at Croke Park in the AFL Division 4 final on the same day, the decision was taken to play at a Dublin venue to allow Saffron supporters to attend both games.
"At this stage, the game could be played in the Falls Park for all we care - we just want to get out and hurl again. Preparation may not have been ideal but there's no point in making excuses," McFall said.
"As players we have to respect PJ's reasons for stepping down, all we can do is concentrate on playing. We've had a few training sessions so far. We all know Sambo and Woody, a lot of the players know Gary and Neil, they've all been around Antrim hurling a long time so it wasn't a totally alien situation. We just get on with the hurling. There were no big talks or meetings, we just got on with it, it was a case of 'let's get out and hurl'."
Despite the managerial switch and their mid-table finish in Division 2A of the league, Antrim remain strong favourites to lift the Christy Ring Cup for the second time. Back in 2006, they breezed to the title, beating Carlow by 17 points in the final. However the second tier hurling landscape has changed enormously in the past decade.
"The results don't lie. We have to realise that we underachieved in the league," said McFall.
"As a player you look back at every game to try and see where you went wrong. It's hard to put a finger on it, it's not just this year, this has been festering the last couple of years under Kevin Ryan - we don't seem to be getting results when we want to be getting results and we're slowly dropping down the table.
"It's hard for players to turn round and say 'this is where we're going wrong'. You can say we've had boys unavailable this year but there should still be enough talent there to get promoted back to Division 1B.
"That was our biggest goal this year but at the same time, if you're not beating teams in Division 2A by 10 points, you don't deserve to be in Division 1B because you'll be straight back down the next year."
Antrim have welcomed back the Cushendall players after their All-Ireland club exploits with Eoin Campbell, Ryan McCambridge, Conor Carson and Neil McManus all back in the fold, along with new panellists Paddy Burke and Sean McAfee.
Win or lose against Kildare, Antrim will be in action again the following week. The winners from the four first round games go into a draw for the quarter-finals, while the losers take the back door route.
If McFall and his team-mates are to "put pride back in Antrim hurling", realistically, nothing less than a victorious Christy Ring Cup campaign will do. On league form, London are Antrim's main rivals for the title. Last year's finalists Derry finished winless at the bottom of Division 2A while Kildare salvaged just one win. Down again missed out on promotion from Division 2B, while it would be a major shock if Meath, Wicklow or Roscommon reached the June 4 decider.
McFall refuses to look too far ahead however: "Going on our league performances, these teams aren't that far away from us. We played Kildare in the league in Ballycastle and they are no pushovers.
"Looking back on the league, it's not where we wanted to finish up but we have to put it behind us. We have to take responsibility for where we are and put it right. There are 25 fellas who are committed to doing that."
