Sparrow ready to let fly for belated debut

SPARE a thought for Ger O’Loughlin who makes his debut as Clare hurling manager against WIT in Meelick tomorrow.

O’Loughlin is the man tasked with returning harmony to the Banner after a troublesome few months of standoffs between players and former boss Mike McNamara. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, the recent cold snap has meant that training sessions with his new charges have been rather hit-and-miss affairs.

“Everyone is in the same boat,” he pointed out. “You’d be hoping you’d be able to get in a bit of outdoor work, especially for hurling to get used to the underfoot conditions. It’s been tough, a fair education but from the player reaction point of view, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“Fellas seem to be buying into it (the new management setup) – you’d only be hoping things will work out okay.”

Despite the difficult conditions, O’Loughlin has already managed to hold a few indoor sessions.

“We have a couple of sessions behind us since the start of January, but we have no hurling done – nobody has.”

Ironically, given what eventually transpired last year with Clare failing to win a game in either league or championship, Clare kicked off the season by winning this competition. Will they be taking it seriously this year?

“The preparation will tell you that we can’t be too serious, but it’s a chance for lads. Every time they go out it’s a chance to stake a place on the panel.

“But you can’t judge a lad on one game when he has no hurling done. That would be silly. I just want lads to go out and do their best, knock the cobwebs off and get ready for the league. We will definitely be taking the league a lot more seriously this year, we have a lot of work to do and we know that. It’s a three-year programme, and hopefully we’ll make progress every year.”