Collins targets immediate promotion for Clare footballers

Clare football boss Colm Collins is targeting immediate promotion to Division 2 as he looks to build on a positive 2014.

Collins will have his sons Podge and Sean, along with Cathal McInerney, devoting all of their efforts to thefootball cause next year following Davy Fitzgerald’s refusal toaccommodate dual players. Collins says there has been no thawing of that stance, expressing delight at having some of the county’s finest talent at his disposal.

“There’s no change whatsoever. The hurling management made theirdecision and that was it, there is no acrimony there. There is no bad feeling in any shape or form.

“We weren’t part of the decision there at all, it was solely from thehurling management side. It is nothing to do with us.

“Sean and Podge were with us last year and I didn’t have a problem with that. They are going to be there again this year and the competition for places is going to be very hot. Cathal McInerney is the one high profile guy that is there as well. Then you have got Alan O’Neill, he was formerly on the hurling panel so there are a few,” he said.

Similar to last season Clare won’t take part in the McGrath Cup which starts this weekend.

Instead, Collins is aiming for an immediate return to winning ways in the national league.They host Wexford at Cusack Park on February 1.

“At the start of the year we set out to get promoted and we got promoted, that was good.

“We were a bit disappointed not winning our championship games against the big guns. We didn’t beat Kerry or Kildare but I suppose that gives us a greater impetus for this year and something to build on for next year.

“When you are in those close games and you lose them. You could always look at the little things that didn’t go right but hopefully this time around we can get the small things going in our favour,” Collins continued.

“It is nice to be coming up a division. But we have to keepconcentrating on constant improvement. We need to get out of Division 3 on top of everything else.

“Saying all that it is nice to be playing some different teams this year. Our performances and players will have to improve so that we can hopefully get promotion from Division 3.”