McIntyre: Lay off Canning

GALWAY hurling manager John McIntyre has launched a robust defence of Joe Canning — and warned the media to lay off his star player.

Following a 2010 season in which Canning admitted himself that he failed to live up to his own expectations, McIntyre took the opportunity at yesterday’s Allianz Hurling League launch to claim the press have been too hard on the Portumna man.

An inflamed heel injury has ruled Canning out of Galway’s Division One opener against Wexford on Sunday as they bid to retain their top-flight title.

However, his manager believes the 22-year-old “needs the break to recharge his batteries a bit” after three hectic first senior seasons where he’s been constantly heralded as Galway’s great white hope.

“To be honest, I think Joe Canning has been getting a raw deal, especially from my colleagues in the fourth estate,” said McIntyre, sports editor with Galway-based newspaper, The Connacht Tribune.

“What people seem to forget is that he’s still very, very young. He’s done an awful lot of hurling and he’s struggled with injuries over the last 18 months and unfortunately is sidelined again at the moment.

“I have worked with Joe for the past two and a half years and I can tell you this hand on heart, I have never come across an individual who is more committed and devoted to the Galway cause than him. He’s a jewel to work with, the expectations placed on his shoulder are extreme.

“There was a lot of hype about Joe Canning even before he first wore the Galway senior jersey. That was of the result of some incredible performances for Portumna and at underage level, and there is a period of adjustment when it comes to playing top-flight hurling.

“The worst thing for Joe would have been to be an overnight sensation at senior level because then the hype machine and the pressure would have gone into overdrive. I have no doubt that Joe Canning will be a major player for Galway in the months ahead.”

Canning is just one of several players McIntyre is without for Sunday’s game. So many, that he will only be able to name a 23-man panel as opposed to the new regulation number of 26, but McIntyre wasn’t making excuses.

He supports the need for an inter-county break in activity but recommends it be reduced to the month of November, and also feels the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups should be played off before Christmas so as to allow the intercounty teams full and uninterrupted access to their players from January onwards

“Players, as is their nature, do not want to let their team-mates down, whether it is a Fitzgibbon Cup team, club team, under-21s or inter-county team-mates. Human nature, being what it is, is to try and not let down anybody with the result that they are becoming increasingly prone to injuries, and are feeling fatigued when they are playing in the big matches in the public eye during the National League.

“And you have the critics on the sideline wondering ‘what is wrong with him’ and so on and so forth and it might not be a fair appraisal simply because of the savage workload that he is being confronted with.”

McIntyre also voiced his opposition to an autumn start for the National League as well as the reported proposal to expand Division One to accommodate the better Division Two teams.

“The reality is that there is a reason why teams are down there in the first place because they did not compete sufficiently well in Division One, so it is a bit rich for certain counties to be complaining a bit about being down there in the first place when they are ignoring the cause of their demise.

“It happened on their watch and they have to take responsibility for it and there is no point officialdom trying to prop them up if the management and the players have been found wanting in the first place.

“If Galway happened to be relegated from Division One this year we will take our medicine because our performances would not have been good enough.”

McIntyre also said he would have no issue with semi-finals for Division One being re-introduced, providing the fixture schedule can accommodate the two games and teams don’t have to play in the first round of the championship two weeks after a league final.