Baker: Championship format just isn’t fair

Ollie Baker has hit out at the “inequality” of the Championship structure which leaves Offaly without a competitive game for eight months.

Saturday’s All-Ireland qualifier exit means the county won’t be lining out again until February when they commence their 2014 Division 1B campaign.

“Those lads deserve better than that from the organisation,” lashed Baker. “Michael Ryan was facing the same emptiness and hibernation period. That wasn’t going to do them any good.

“You are talking about a public wanting to see matches, players wanting to play matches.

“There is an appetite out there, but the way things are at the moment it just isn’t helping developing teams. Your chance of doing something is getting bet up.

“We are fighting a tough enough battle anyway, but it is like hitting a mountain stage in the Tour de France when you are supposed to be sprinting.

“It is demoralising for the players, they have given up eight months of their lives and they have played only seven matches this year.

“There has to be a change for the development of hurling as a game. Offaly is a stronghold. There is no concentration of development.

“This isn’t intended to sound like sour grapes. Waterford were facing the exact same scenario. It is not good for hurling.”

Baker believes the structure of the qualifiers must be reviewed.

“There is an inequity in that teams losing a Munster semi-final on the same day as a Leinster quarter-final, the losers of that game aren’t out until July 6.

“They should put all the losers into a round robin system and let them have two or three games. The teams would be in good shape then with momentum behind them. There has to be more games than there are.

“The same thing happened us last year. We were beaten on July 6 and we weren’t out until February again.”

Baker said he has made no decision on his future as Offaly manager after completing his second season in charge.

“I am not contemplating anything on that. We came here contemplating a victory. I haven’t thought about anything other than that.”