Hurling & Camogie

I would love to sample today's inter-county game: Antrim joint boss Terence McNaughton

Terence McNaughton (left) and Gary O'Kane will help prepare Antrim for Division 1B in 2018
Terence McNaughton (left) and Gary O'Kane will help prepare Antrim for Division 1B in 2018 Terence McNaughton (left) and Gary O'Kane will help prepare Antrim for Division 1B in 2018

TERENCE McNaughton says he would’ve loved to sample the modern-day inter-county game and all its trappings and believes the training sessions of the past were arguably more taxing than today’s regimes.

Antrim’s joint hurling manager is helping prepare the side for a crack at All-Ireland champions Galway in Pearse Stadium on January 28 in their first NHL Division 1B game of the new season.

“There was a lot of training in our day, different sort of training,” said McNaughton.

“I know when our club was trying to win our first county title in 1981 we trained five nights every week. And if you watched the Mick O’Dwyer RTE documentary earlier this week they trained 25 nights in a row.

“This generation think we invented hard training. We didn’t go to gyms, fair enough, and there wasn’t as much emphasis on strength and conditioning.

“But I think we maybe need to lose the ‘strength’ and get more conditioning in our players. Certain players need to put on a bit of weight and there’s a place for it and there’s a place for GPS systems and video analysis but without the foundation stones of commitment, character and desire you can lose sight of what makes you successful.

“But certainly I would loved to have played in today’s game for all the sports science of the game.”

While McNaughton sang the praises of the current Antrim senior panel for their dedication, he feels that it’s perhaps more difficult now than in previous years to get players to fully commit to play inter-county hurling.

“In a sense it’s different now because players don’t see light at the end of the tunnel. Everybody knows, because of social media, they see Tipperary going away on holiday and the top players driving sponsored cars. They don’t see the rewards for the weaker counties. Back in our day all those rewards weren’t common knowledge.

“What you’re looking for is people with commitment, ambition and character. That’s what you need to find in young fellas now. You need commitment and you need action. You have to go and do it if you want to be the best and be competing against the likes of Joe Canning."

The Saffrons lost their two Walsh Cup games – to Meath and Dublin – and will face Down in tomorrow night’s McGurk Cup final at Queen’s.

O’Donovan Rossa attacker Jim Connolly and Cushendall’s Ryan McCambridge have returned to the fold this year after stepping away from the senior panel in 2017.

Paul ‘Shorty’ Shiels’ surprise retirement announcement at the end of last year is undoubtedly a huge blow for Antrim’s Division 1B prospects but his Dunloy club-mates Conor McKinley, Eoin O’Neill, Nigel Elliott and Ryan Elliott have committed to the panel in 2018.

With some top players unable to commit to Antrim this year, McNaughton insisted: “You have to focus on who you have got rather than who you haven’t.”

Joe Maskey of St Enda’s Glengormley was arguably Antrim’s best player in their Walsh Cup defeat to Dublin last weekend, while John ‘Rocky’ Dillon will be looking to replicate his excellent form of last season.

Mattie Donnelly played his first game for Antrim against Tyrone in the McGurk Cup after missing virtually the entire 2017 campaign with a knee injury and will be another good defensive option this year.

As the clock ticks down to the Galway game, McNaughton acknowledged the daunting prospect that awaits them in the west.

“It’s the toughest start we could get. It’s the first game for the All-Ireland champions in their own backyard and they’ll want to put on a show. What we’re trying to do is get a few points in the League and try and stay in the division. I do believe we’re on the right road.”