Morgan wants county development squads

CORK manager Billy Morgan has called for the creation of development squads in order to lift the standards of football in the county.

The All-Ireland winning boss believes the County Board should target teenagers from U14 level in a bid to emulate the success of other counties.

“Limerick are a case in point. They have passed us out as one of the top football counties now and we have to take steps to redress that,” said Morgan in the aftermath of their qualifier defeat to Fermanagh.

“We need a conveyor belt of talent coming on stream every year if we are to compete with the rest. This would necessitate the setting up of a pool of good quality coaches, instructing players in a particular way so that it can be continued through the grades.

“The Cork senior football team of the late 1980s was built around highly successful U21 and minor All-Ireland winning teams. Those players were accustomed to winning and it had a beneficial effect at senior level later on.

“In the last decade only two minor and one U21 All-Ireland titles were won. Success breeds success, and many of the present Cork players have told me their confidence is very brittle as they have not been accustomed to winning.”

But Morgan is at a loss to explain the downturn in footballing fortunes.

“It’s difficult to understand the failure of our inter-county teams when you look at the standard of club football in the county.

“Nemo won the All-Ireland club title last year, Castlehaven were just a couple of points short against An Ghaeltacht in this year’s Munster club final and the Kerry champions went on to the All-Ireland final. Ilen Rovers won the All-Ireland intermediate title this year while Carbery Rangers lost the junior final.

“Those results suggest that the standard of club football in Cork is stronger than in most other counties. It’s a question of getting the balance right.

Colin Corkery has no plans to retire from intercounty football after the sudden end to the championship season at Croke Park.

The former Allstar is certain that Cork can capture the All-Ireland title but only if they learn some lessons from the Ulster sides.

“We are light years behind the northern teams in terms of physical fitness and condition and until such time as we get that right we will lag behind,” said Corkery.

“When Kerry and Dublin took Gaelic football to a new level 25 or 30 years ago, other counties had to adopt to that standard if they were to compete. And it was done.

“Now the Ulster counties have taken the game to another level particularly in terms of physical preparation and Cork must do likewise or else we will be left behind.

“Already we have dropped out of the top six as a football county and we’ll drop further unless steps are taken to remedy the situation.

“Our football is not the problem. Cork players are as good as there are in any of the other counties, it’s a question of application in my view.

“As players we need to make a conscious decision where we go from here. As I see it we need to make a couple of big sacrifices in terms of our physical preparation if we are get back to the top.

“We need to make the same sacrifices as the northern players, in terms of training. The players must take on the responsibility for their own physical wellbeing. If we can get that right, the rest will fall into place.

“If there are players in our squad that are not prepared or are unable for one reason or another to give the necessary commitment, and the present commitment is no longer good enough, then they will have to be let go. It’s time for hard decisions to be made.

“The type of training required must start now, not in the autumn. I know there will be complaints from clubs, but sacrifices must be made by everybody if Cork football is to get back to the top.

“The County Board must also come up with the money to fund the kind of training programmes I’m talking about. It’s in everyone’s interest to get it right otherwise we will become an ordinary run of the mill county again.”