ANTRIM hurling boss Darren Gleeson insists he’s still “bursting with energy for the job” and has reminded his players they have a golden opportunity to stay in top flight hurling if they win their upcoming relegation play-off against either Offaly or Limerick on March 26.
The Tipperary man was miffed by the standard of Antrim’s first half performance against 14-man Laois on Sunday. They probably left themselves too much to do in the second half to win the game as their hosts nicked a stoppage-time win to preserve their Division One status and send the Ulstermen hurtling towards a relegation showdown.
“It was very, very frustrating watching it,” Gleeson said. “Sixteen wides, numerous unforced errors, silly frees given away. It’s like all the previous games that we didn’t win – they were all in our own hands and we didn’t execute them.
“Whether that’s not having the ability to execute them or we just weren’t able for it on the day… I think the ability is there. We just have to go again. We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can drive on. And I’m a drive-on kind of person."
Gleeson also paid a glowing tribute to Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett’s side who found their stride when they most needed it after suffering heavy Division 1B losses to Waterford and Kilkenny earlier in the campaign.
“I think people do Laois a disservice,” Gleeson said.
“Stephen Maher, PJ Scully came on and is a fantastic hurler, Ross King, Paddy Purcell all these boys. They have been operating at a high level and Laois are overlooked a lot.
“They came out and they gave everything they had and players came off the bench and got them over the line. That’s what you get when you’re playing at the top level for a long time; that ability to handle those situations.”
The Portroe clubman didn’t take a lot of comfort from the good elements of Antrim’s campaign to date even though they were unlucky to lose to Kilkenny, Dublin and Waterford before last Sunday’s clash.
“A League doesn’t lie. Good performances are one thing but the only thing that matters is the win column. But we’ll move on and prepare for the relegation play-off.”
Asked if Sunday’s one-point defeat was the lowest point in his three-year managerial reign, Gleeson referenced the tragic sudden death of Paul Shefflin, brother of Kilkenny hurling legend Henry.
“I still wake up in the morning and am bursting with energy for the job. Losing that hurling match might feel like the lowest point but there are bigger things in life, especially what happened in Kilkenny.
“I don’t reflect really on low points like that. We have an opportunity in a few weeks’ time to stay at top level hurling because that’s where we’re going to develop.”
