Davy Fitzgerald: We didn’t want to take John Conlon off

Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald was left ruing the departure of wing-forward John Conlon at half-time in Saturday’s clash with Cork, saying the Clare management had been “more or less told” to take off Conlon, who’d been yellow-carded.

“We didn’t want to do it, but we were more or less told that if we didn’t do it, it would be happening very quickly and we might be down to 14 which is hard. He got a yellow early.” Fitzgerald wouldn’t be drawn on who exactly had passed on that message.

“You have a fair idea what the story is. I don’t want to go into it. When you have to take off one of your ball winners it’s tough. He’s a massive ball winner, it’s disappointing. In fairness, we were getting the heads up on what was in his (Barry Kelly’s) head.

“We were advised of it. It isn’t something we would have wanted to do. Maybe it was a good tip off if that was what was in his head.

“It wasn’t that we wanted to take off John Conlon because he was playing bad. If that’s the way, that’s the way. We have no complaints about that.” Fitzgerald also addressed Clare’s high wide count.

“I thought at crucial times we probably missed a few wides. I knew that we were tight enough on wides.

“The reason there were so many wides, if you look at the game, the Cork half-forward line play right out, plus an extra one, and our half-forwards played right out, plus an extra one.

“That means you are going to have 20 plus bodies in around the middle and it’s going to be hard to get shots in, it’s pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure.

“This isn’t an open game, it is at the ends maybe, but not in the middle third, it’s very hard to get away out there.”

Fitzgerald compared last Saturday to the 2014 exit to Wexford: “They all hurt. You’ll find this hard to imagine, but the only solace I can take is I know we are on the way back.

“When you come from a county like Clare and have missed out on it for so many years for so many different things, it is tough and we don’t want to miss out because we know we have a talented bunch.

“Myself and my management want Clare to be in quarter-finals and semi-finals and finals and it hurts big time not to be there.

“Please God we will get back there but today we have to say fair play to Cork.”

The former goalkeeper was non-committal on his own future.

“I don’t know what’s what. I will sit down and talk to the board and whatever. We’ll chat. I don’t know what’s left of my term, I don’t really mind. I’ll have a chat.

“The day I feel I’m not up to it there’ll be no fear, I’m not here to last in Clare for the next 10 years. As long as I feel I have something to offer, then I am more than delighted to do that. We’ll see in time, I can’t talk about it now because it’s not really the time.”