Bradley hits out at Derry County Board

Paddy Bradley has taken aim at the Derry County Board in the wake of the county's All-Ireland SFC exit at the hands of Longford.

Bradley was unable to inspire the Oak Leafers to victory in last Saturday's first round qualifier at Pearse Park, with top scorer Sean McCormack leading the home side to a 0-17 to 2-8 success.

Now the Glenullin ace, Derry's current captain and a former All-Star, says that the County Board need to be doing more to ensure that the best players are lining out for the county team while also suggesting that there was 'penny-pinching' going on.

"Everything is a penny-pinching operation. The physios were called into a meeting recently. They were pulled about players strapping up their wrists because of the cost of the tape," Bradley told the Irish News.

"Don't get me wrong, we get our expenses, our mileage and our gear. We get what is required. But you get the bare minimum. You don't get anything over and beyond.

"I think that is part of the reason why there is such apathy towards playing for the county. The players know that they're not going to be looked after like the Dublins and the Corks of this world."

Apart from reaching the Dr. McKenna Cup final earlier in the season, 2012 has largely been a year to forget for John Brennan's side.

They only scored two points from play when crashing out of the Ulster Championship to defending champions Donegal, and Longford upset them in the opening round of the qualifiers. They finished third-from-bottom in Allianz League Division 2 in the spring.

While insisting that Derry are capable of much better performances and results, Bradley has urged Derry GAA chiefs to up their efforts in getting the best players to wear the county jersey.

He also argued that some more thinking should go into how the Derry club Championship is structured, given that Brennan's men had a considerable workload at club level in the build-up to the Donegal game.

"Whenever I started off, the in-thing was to get playing for your county. You were mad to get playing for the county," explained the experienced forward.

"Sadly, now boys don't want to play for the county anymore. Let's be honest, some of the best players aren't turning out. They aren't making themselves available and we can't afford to have our best players not playing for us."

Bradley added: "Before we played Donegal, the clubs played six matches in three weeks. For the County Board to set six matches in that space of time is madness.

"We lost key men to injury. Gerard O'Kane is the stand-out. It's madness. No other county is doing it. I know I will be criticised. I know I will get abuse for it. But the bottom line is I am telling the truth."