It’s time Galway players got ‘priorities right’, demands Silke

Ray Silke has urged Galway footballers to concentrate on their football and ignore their Twitter accounts as the county faces a battle to avoid relegation to Division 3 next season.

The Irish Examiner columnist’s comments come as his county suffered their third consecutive Division 2 defeat on Saturday, losing to Laois by 15 points in O’Moore Park.

Galway prop up the group with zero points recording, London apart, the worst concession rate across the four divisions, with 5-54.

At what Silke feels is an urgent time for the county, he believes not enough on the team have the right mindset.

“A few of the players needs to get their priorities right and focus on Gaelic football rather than engaging so much with social media,” he said.

“Social media is fine but anyone can put a few tweets. The future of Galway football is in the balance.

“This isn’t the standard expected in the county. Losing by four or five points is disappointing and there’s no problem in a team being beaten but the level of performance has so far been well below par this year.

“In Castlebar for the Mayo-Kerry game on Sunday, there were over 8,000 people. You won’t fool the punters. They know they’re getting a good, full-blooded game.

“Supporters aren’t going to attend if they know players aren’t 100% committed. My biggest fear is there could be apathy and people stop going to games.

“If that happens, what goes through the head of a player who has a talent to make it but might not be bothered? If you get to that level, where’d we be?”

Silke acknowledges a drop to Division 3 is now a real fear, coming just two seasons after Galway were contesting for a Division 1 spot on the final day at home to Kildare.

“The result against Laois was very disappointing and the manner of performance was very disturbing. Laois are a fine, competitive team and with Tomás Ó Flatharta being a former Galway manager, it would have created an edge to the occasion. Morale is poor in the county and most now expect us to be relegated. Down are coming here on Sunday and it’s not going to get any easier. The writing on the wall is relegation.”

The 1998 All-Ireland winning captain suggests too much was read into Galway’s run to the last round of the qualifiers last year.

“The defeat to Antrim two years ago we felt was the nadir for Gaelic football in Galway. Then Waterford and Tipperary could have beaten Galway in Pearse Stadium last year. There was a pick-up against Armagh but people got carried away by the performance against Cork.

“That was a Cork team on their last legs as the retirements have since shown but even at the time, I felt strongly they were always going to pull away.

“There’s an awful lot of criticism of Alan Mulholland around the place but Galway have gone through so many managers now and it’s been so easy to blame them.”

Silke sees recent results as symptomatic of a grander malaise. “Galway football is a phenomenal distance from where it was and the successes of 1998 and 2001 don’t appear to be have been built on. Galway haven’t won a Connacht title at senior since 2009 and a Connacht minor since 2007. Those involved in the coaching structures need to take a step back and ask themselves what they’re doing.

“St Jarlath’s were beaten by St Attracta’s (of Sligo) last week and there wouldn’t have been much tears cried over that in the county as Jarlath’s have won 12 Hogan Cups. But the last time they won was over 10 years ago (2002).

“The standard of club football is not good either. There’s a vast gap between a few clubs and the rest. (Former Galway captain) Kieran Fitzgerald has 10 county medals with Corofin.

“They’re always knocking on the door and yet it’s only Gary Sice making the Galway team.”