Shane Walsh: Most demanding year of my career has left me mentally 'drained' 

Walsh also said he wasn't aware late in Sunday's club final win over Glen that they had too many players on the field as they defended a '45, placing the win in jeopardy.

HEAVY WORKLOAD: Shane Cunningham, left, and Shane Walsh of Kilmacud Crokes celebrate after the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final match between Glen of Derry and Kilmacud Crokes of Dublin at Croke Park. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

All-Star Galway attacker Shane Walsh admits he's mentally 'drained' after the most demanding year of his career.

The Footballer of the Year nominee has contested two All-Ireland senior finals in the last six months alone, winning with Kilmacud Crokes last Sunday following his high profile mid-season transfer.

It remains to be seen if that result will stand or if a replay of the tie between the Dublin and Derry champions will be required following the substitutions debacle.

If Crokes' two-point win does stick then it looks likely that Walsh will take a number of weeks out to recuperate, potentially leaving Galway without him for several National League games.

The Connacht champions are scheduled to open their Division 1 account away to neighbours Mayo on Saturday evening and while Walsh said you 'never say never' about participating in that game, he admitted he would like a 'month or so' to 'unwind' now.

Between Galway and Crokes, Walsh participated in 23 competitive games from the start of January, 2022 to last weekend, starting 19 of them, playing in seven different finals and contributing 4-100.

"Mentally more than anything I'm just drained," said Walsh. "I suppose when you're not taking a drink or anything like that, you don't get to flush out any of the thoughts that run through your head from even the last 12, 13, 14 months at this stage, with everything going on.

"Physically, probably I have never felt better, which is strange to say, because normally I'm coming into the year with a niggle.

"It's just been a long kind of year, especially with everything that went on in the background as well, it's been demanding. It's an intense environment, at inter-county level especially, but then coming into an environment where you're trying to win an All-Ireland with the club as well.

"It's been very enjoyable but you do need I think a release from it. The next month or so I'll probably be looking just to unwind. I'll be training away myself and just kind of getting myself back up and in order again."

Walsh said he wasn't aware late in Sunday's club final win over Glen that they had too many players on the field as they defended a '45, placing the win in jeopardy.

"The furthest thing from my mind was counting players at the time when I saw the ball going in," said Walsh who admitted he was more worried moments earlier when Glen won the '45 with a Conor Glass goal chance that was tipped around the post by goalkeeper Conor Ferris.

"I nearly felt like a supporter at that stage because I was watching the ball coming in, a high ball coming in and it broke, I saw where Conor Glass was and my hands were going to my head and I was literally ready to drop to my knees. I didn't know whether I was going to be dropping for tears or in celebration but what an unbelievable save Conor made, it was outrageous."

Ferris was partly to blame for the late goal concession in the 2022 final when Kilcoo stole victory at the death.

"It's a testament to Conor but a testament to the whole group," said Walsh, who only made his Crokes debut in early September after moving from Kilkerrin-Clonberne in Galway. "They would have been devastated last year in that dressing-room, I can only imagine how hard it was. I was there myself with Galway, it was probably not even as agonising as Kilmacud Crokes' loss, when they were that close.

"Everyone in there was all about just driving things on and driving things on. Because if you can just improve, you've seen how close Kilmacud were last year to winning, so if you can keep improving then you're going to get over the line. We've had our moments, a few hairy moments but as Rory (O'Carroll) said in training last Thursday week, 'Lads, if you do your jobs, we will get over the line'. Conor did his job, along with a lot of other lads, and that ultimately led to us getting over the line."