Hurling & Camogie

Darren Gleeson feels Antrim are battling "head winds" but are making progress

Keeping Antrim in top flight hurling is a resounding success for Darren Gleeson Picture: Seamus Loughran
Keeping Antrim in top flight hurling is a resounding success for Darren Gleeson Picture: Seamus Loughran Keeping Antrim in top flight hurling is a resounding success for Darren Gleeson Picture: Seamus Loughran

ANTRIM hurling manager Darren Gleeson has urged all sectors of Antrim GAA to get behind the team after they preserved their Division One status for a fourth consecutive year with a win over Laois.

Following Sunday's gutsy six-point win, the Tipperary man felt the squad have been battling against unnecessary “head winds” in trying to produce a “serious inter-county team”.

Under Gleeson’s four-year reign, Antrim have closed the gap on some of hurling’s big guns and remaining in Division 1B should help them narrow it even more in 2024.

Antrim lost narrowly to Kilkenny, Dublin and Waterford in the Allianz National League but banking the two points at home to Laois was enough to keep them out of a relegation play-off with Westmeath.

“It has been a tough few weeks on all of us,” said Gleeson.

“We’ve head winds against us all the time. There’s no point in bullshitting. We have head winds and they should be with us, not against us.”

The Antrim manager didn't elaborate on what or who was causing the "head winds", other than to say "all levels".

“We’re making two or three steps forward and then we get kicked back four or five. That’s really frustrating. There’s only so long you can have positive spins on it.

“The players, the backroom team are throwing everything at it. You’ve got to get in behind us – at all levels and decide do we want a serious inter-county hurling team or do we want to yo-yo? I want a serious inter-country hurling team here.

“The people I have in place are putting an unbelievable effort in. The squad of players are putting unbelievable effort in week in, week out. There are distractions. We don’t need that to go forward in Antrim.”

Gleeson also praised the county’s U17 and U20 sides that won provincial crowns at the weekend and acknowledged that whoever comes after his management team will have solid foundations to build on.

“I don’t know how long previous Antrim teams were in Division One. We’re going into our fourth year next year which is great.

“We’re in the Leinster Championship again and it’s really important that we embed ourselves in there as well, and it can be a battle.

“We could be just laying the foundations for what’s coming. Two underage teams probably went under the radar at the weekend – the U20s and U17s [winning Ulster titles].

“The core of that 20s team are under the age of 18 or 18-and-a-half. We have to drive what we can into them because there’s a limited amount of hurling that’s put in front of them in minor and U20 club championships. They need as much hurling and as much exposure they can get. I’ve said this a few times before: whoever comes behind us will probably get the benefit of it if we can stay fighting for it.”

The Antrim hurlers round off their NHL campaign against unbeaten Tipperary at Corrigan Park next Sunday before having the rare luxury of a four-week period to prepare for their Leinster SHC round robin opener against Dublin at their west Belfast home.

“You can see the injuries we have,” Gleeson added. “We mightn’t be getting the results week in week out but we’re competitive and when you add up the games we’re within a couple of scores of all those teams. That’s progress.”

Antrim’s Leinster SHC fixtures:

Saturday April 22: Antrim v Dublin (Corrigan Park, 2pm)

Saturday April 29: Wexford v Antrim (Wexford Park, 5pm)

Sunday May 7: Antrim v Kilkenny (Corrigan Park, 3pm)

Sunday May 21: Galway v Antrim (Pearse Stadium, 2pm)

Sunday May 28: Westmeath v Antrim (Cusack Park, 2pm)