McCloskey criticises use of Parnell Park for league finals

GAA FOCUS ON DERRY FOOTBALLERS:DERRY TRAINER John McCloskey has criticised the use of Parnell Park as a venue for the weekend's Footbal League finals.

McCloskey, who worked closely with Joe Kernan in Crossmaglen's and Armagh's successes, said that whereas the Dublin county ground might have been adequate for the crowd in attendance it wasn't suitable from a players' point of view.

"We have to be more professional in how we handle these occasions. At the weekend we had four teams crammed into Parnell Park. I know the stewards and people there were doing their best but there's nowhere for teams to warm up. If you try and warm up on a pitch that's farther down the road there's a chance you get caught up in traffic so you've an added hassle there. The first game went to extra time. We'd over 40 guys sitting in one wee room all boiling so they had to go outside and mingle.

"You'd the referee changing in the kitchen along with a couple of boys getting physiotherapy treatment. That's a scandal and yet they're expected to go out there and perform to win a national title. You get parades before the match and bands playing but no one seems to consider that players should go out and warm up for a good 15 minutes.

"If you go to any rugby or soccer match anywhere around the world you see teams come out, warm up and go back in. We went to Letterkenny two weeks ago and were told, 'you're not allowed on the pitch to warm up'. Yet we were going to play a match on it for 70 minutes. It's a joke. When you're trying to do the best you can and be professional these things get in the way."

McCloskey accepted Derry manager Paddy Crozier's invitation to become involved with the team before the start of this season and the work done to date was vindicated with a thrilling recovery and defeat of All-Ireland champions Kerry in the Division One final.

One change of emphasis he has encountered between Armagh and Derry is the relative priority accorded to club fixtures. "I can only speak about this year but I would find it difficult to prepare a team the way we'd like to prepare a team given the circumstances that prevail in Derry at the moment. There seems to be a bigger emphasis on club football than there was in Armagh.

"Getting the balance right is the biggest conundrum we have. We need better communication but also I think clubs being prepared to play some league games without county players. I know in Armagh when we asked the clubs to allow players not to play in the odd league game on the basis they couldn't be asked to do everything they generally complied.

"That's one of the problems that people must face up to, that if they want their county team to be successful then they're going to have to release their grip on the players. It's county football that brings in the revenue that streams down into the clubs."

In the county's heyday Armagh were infrequent visitors to league finals with the 2005 victory being the only occasion on which the team even reached the decider. According to McCloskey there was no policy on the matter.

"No one ever said, 'don't worry about this match', at any stage in Armagh. What you had was a number of older players who we would rest during the competition to give a chance to some of the younger ones. Armagh rarely played their championship team until later on in the league."

McCloskey is now on the countdown to Derry's first round in the Ulster championship in less than five weeks' time. He says the team will meet at the end of this week for some light work. "We wanted to give them the week off but they've club championship the week after next, which means we wouldn't have seen them for another fortnight so we'll meet later this week. The more I see the more I'm convinced that less is more in terms of training."

He also believes his work is just part of the equation that explains intercounty success. "I'd say there's only three to four per cent that separates the top 20 teams. The rest depends on the quality of players, the quality of their performance and how you plan for different opponents."