Baker on board as Banner prepare for battle

FORMER midfield star Ollie Baker is hoping that his experience with the Clare hurlers over the past decade will assist him in his new role as a selector along with Alan Cunningham, Fr. Harry Bohan and manager Anthony Daly.

Baker, whose appointment was ratified at the last County Board meeting, agreed to come on board after transferring to Clonmel, having recently been promoted to the rank of garda sergeant.

A member of the All-Ireland winning teams of 1995 and 1997, gaining Allstar awards in 1995 and 1998, Baker played a starring role (in the company of his brother Greg) in the successful St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield team that won the 1999 AIB All-Ireland club title.

His last appearance in a Clare jersey was as a substitute in the 2004 All-Ireland quarter-final replay against Kilkenny, in Thurles.

Looking forward to getting involved in the inter-county scene once again, Baker admitted yesterday that he had found it strange, last year, to be looking in from the outside.

“It was different, even for the simple thing of organising tickets,” he explained.

“You were in the loop for ten or eleven years and suddenly you were outside. When it was such a huge part of your life, you certainly miss it. To get a chance to get back into it or be involved in some way is certainly something you would not overlook.

“Anthony came to me shortly after I got promoted and wondered if I could get involved. Getting a placing in Clonmel and in the Munster area meant that travel would be easier for me.”

His personal knowledge of the players will help him, he believes.

“From playing with most of them I’d know their capabilities. And, from the experience I would have gained over the last ten years as a player, and being lucky enough to be successful, I’d have an idea of what it requires to be a successful team. Hopefully I can bring some of that on board.”

While acknowledging the potential, Baker feels that there “is an awful lot of hard work” to be done.

“Clare are certainly in amongst the (leading) bunch, but we wouldn’t be fooling ourselves into thinking that we are heading the bunch in any way. We have been dealt an unbelievably hard draw in Munster facing Cork in the first round and we are not looking beyond that. We want to see if we can we narrow the margin of the one-point victory they had over us last year.

“That is basically what we are focusing on at the moment.”