Provincial exit can be blessing but challenges ahead

Similar to Donegal, the Mayo footballers entered the weekend in the expectation that they would be back training the following Tuesday with provincial ambitions still burning bright.

Just like Down before them, Roscommon didn't follow the script and the Donegal and Mayo management teams needed to not only reassess, the training schedule had to be adjusted. And there is the possibility challenge games will be sought against others left kicking their heels.

Monday’s draw will determine whether it is a four or five-week lay-off before entering the first round of the qualifiers, with both sides guaranteed to be on the road.

Rather than a provincial final assignment to plot in a fortnight, Mayo manager Andy Moran decided to let the players have some time off before regrouping on Friday to rake over the coals of the Rossies’ setback.

Donegal, the choice of many as the most likely to knock Kerry off their perch this season, have considerable time to lick their wounds as they face into last-chance saloon.

The potential lay-off to their qualifier is in stark contrast to last year’s demanding schedule; the opening five weeks of last year’s gruelling Ulster campaign saw the Tir Chonaill men defeat Derry, Monaghan, Down and Armagh (after extra-time) en route to claiming a second successive Anglo-Celt Cup.

Speaking after the Down defeat, Jim McGuinness acknowledged a different approach will be required this year.

"There are a lot of fellas there we need to get up through the gears, it might create a bit of freshness," he said. "We had a lot of games last year and we tried to keep that momentum going, but it will be different this year."

Strength and conditioning coach Mike McGurn, who has worked with the Irish rugby team, Leeds United and Armagh GAA and is now employed by Cliftonville FC, believes that once the disappointment of a provincial loss is parked, the reality is that from a fitness point of view, the extended break gives sides a better chance to peak for the business end of the season.

"It could be something of a blessing in disguise," he tells RTÉ Sport.

What will this period look like?

"I imagine most teams will go into a phase called 'supercompensation’, where they really ratchet things up, volume, intensity, duration, loads and high-speed running," the Fermanagh native says.

"This will give them a huge addition to what they've already done in the pre-season National League."

Another side with clipped wings and waiting on Monday’s draw are last year’s All-Ireland semi-finalists Meath. Robbie Brennan’s team were aspiring to go one better than last year in Leinster, the novel pairing with Louth going the way of the Wee County.

The Royals however came unstuck against Westmeath, a planned two-week break to a Leinster semi-final replaced by a wider-picture plan to bounce back in the All-Ireland series.

"Meath got ambushed, so there would be a double dip there psychologically, but also what's to come ahead," McGurn says.

"Robbie Brennan's not going to let them come back in and stick to the plan that they had to get to a provincial final, no way. The dynamic has completely changed, and the adaptations that they're trying to achieve through their training has changed as well."

A week out from their respective provincial bows, Down and Kerry met in a challenge game in Killarney, fine-tuning their preparations.

McGurn says that the relatively lengthy lay-off is likely to encourage idle teams to look for games.

"Some of the knocked out teams could well play each other," he says. "Mayo could look to Donegal for a game because they need those high intensity games now. It's jeopardy now, there's no second chance.

"Down’s game against Kerry shows the value of challenge games are still quite high for inter-county managers.

"It’s a bit of risk that you might get a few injuries, but then you get injuries in training, so I think it was a calculated gamble that paid off for Conor Laverty. When you win, everything's right, but when you lose, that's when it's wrong."

Donegal’s provincial derailment has cast their Sam Maguire ambitions in a different light. Yet with a number of players returning to action, and others such as captain and All-Star Michael Langan expected back shortly, time away from the Ulster bearpit may work out well to fulfill loftier ambitions.

Mayo too, once the dust settles on a sobering second-half in Castlebar, have more time to focus on the kickout and conversion difficulties that scuppered their Connacht dreams.

Fine-tuning fitness with an eye to further down the line could be the real silver lining.

"For some teams it could be a blessing because it's a real top-up for them," McGurn says.

"They've really topped things off now, and it could give them a bit more sustainability going into the All-Ireland series, a time when injuries creep up and fatigue sets in."

Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch Armagh v Down in the Ulster Football Championship on Sunday from 3.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Click here to read article