Ulster hunger still burns for McKeever

THEY have been judged by their failure to win more than one All-Ireland as much as they have their phenomenal record in Ulster but Armagh captain Ciaran McKeever is adamant that the thirst for provincial honours has not been quenched.

Armagh’s dominance of the Anglo-Celt Cup has been such that they have claimed it seven times in the last 10 attempts but the county’s inability to replicate that form on the wider stage rankles.

Armagh have appeared at Croke Park in August on all but one occasion since their single All-Ireland triumph in 2002 but they have fallen to sides as diverse as Tyrone and Kerry on the one hand and Fermanagh and Wexford on the other.

They begin their latest provincial campaign on Sunday against a Tyrone side whose form has been at times their mirror image – vulnerable in Ulster, reborn outside it.

“Any given year there are only 30 Ulster medals given out,” said McKeever. “You want to be in the shake-up. You want to be standing at the top of Clones or Croke Park getting your Ulster medal, so Ulster means a lot to us.”

Their almost Jekyll and Hyde performances on opposite sides of the provincial boundaries have led to a growing body of opinion that their exertions within the nine counties have done them no favours.

Their defeats to Fermanagh and Wexford would appear to back that up. Armagh were victorious in Ulster on both occasions and yet slumped to unexpected defeats against unrated opposition in both All-Ireland quarter-finals.

“Everybody knows Ulster is a minefield and it’s one of the toughest provinces to come out of. Last year we came to Croke Park and felt we let ourselves down so it’s just a case of trying to get yourself across that gap.”

It won’t be easy. Paul McGrane, Francie Bellew and Paddy McKeever all called time on their inter-county days last year. Others like Kieran McGeeney and Oisin McConville had already used the exit door this last two years.

Claiming the Ulster title with the team in transition last year was a wonderful, if largely forgotten achievement by Peter McDonnell but the Armagh manager faces an even greater challenge second time around.

“Every year’s a big year,” said McKeever. “They were always the men that were dragging you along when the going got tough. It’s up to us to put our backs to the wheel and stand up and be counted.

“They didn’t accept second best. Anything you’d do you had do it to the best of your ability, don’t leave anything on the training field. Empty the tank every day you put on that Armagh jersey.”

The next generation seems to be coping adequately rather than spectacularly thus far. The league finished with them occupying mid-table in Division Two after a spring balanced by four wins and three defeats.

Promotion was a possibility, if an outside one, until the very last day but a seven-point defeat in Cork – their worst of the competition by far – left them with much to reflect on ahead of the championship.

“Our aim at the beginning of the league was to get promoted and we didn’t achieve that. We had players out injured and were missing the Crossmaglen contingent but at the end of the day you have to take the positives out of that.

“There were a couple of young boys there that had been on the fringes of the panel and they got national league time and they produced the goods so it’s only good for Armagh.”

As this year’s captain, the onus is on McKeever and the ever dwindling bunch of ‘vets’ to hurry along the transition, to take the lead on the pitch and in training and bring the younger members along with them.

“Everybody is telling me I’ve big shoes to fill. I’ve been lucky to have been with Armagh for this past four or five years and I’ve learned from them. I can just take the positives from them, see can I take anything from my own game and just get on with it.

“I’ve 30 players around me and they’re all leaders. They’re easy men to work it.”

He reiterates that last point later on. Armagh, he said, are “littered” with leaders. They will have to be.

Starting on Sunday.