‘Six-day turnaround is wrong’

THE compressed six-day period available for beaten provincial football finalists to recover before entering the All-Ireland qualifiers is “inherently unfair”, according to former Down defender Conor Deegan.

The system drew sharp criticism last season when Sligo and Monaghan exited the All-Ireland qualifier race after succumbing in their own provincial deciders. A Congress motion to extend the recuperation period to 13 days failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority in Mullingar last month.

“It’s wrong, end of story,” Deegan said.