BY MATTHEW WILSON

MICHAEL Lynch and his Cloughaneely side are preparing themselves for the fight for survival as we head towards the business end of the Division 2 campaign.

The Falcarragh men are currently sat just two points above the relegation places in the league and will be searching for an additional few to edge away from the drop zone beginning with a trip to Naomh Columba this Saturday.

Michael Lynch is back in the Cloughaneely dugout this season having previously taken charge of the side from 2017 until the end of 2022.

Lynch is enjoying life back at the helm with a lot of fresh faces in the squad since the last time he was manager of the club.

“It’s good to be back but there’s a big change with the players obviously, there’s a lot of new lads that maybe wouldn’t have been in but are boys that I would’ve worked with at minors. We’re under a little bit of pressure but it’s great to be back”, said the Cloughaneely man.

“We’re a young team. There’s a lot of boys away and we’ve a good few injuries as well, probably like a lot of other clubs but it’s just where we are at the minute. We likely need to win a few more games to be safe, we’re in and around that bottom half of the table and it’s tight down there.”

Cloughaneely have been down a lot of players for large parts of the league season to date through various reasons such as players away and others ruled out with significant injuries.

The Cloughaneely boss appears to be relying on younger members on the panel which may not always be straightforward as they may still be adapting themselves to the demands of senior football.

However, Lynch is making no excuses as he mentioned how a lot of other clubs around the county will likely be experiencing the same issue as they are in at this present moment.

“Like I said there’s a good few lads away and we’ve a couple out with long-term injuries but I’m sure if you look through every other club there are plenty in the same situation. You’ve 15 or 20 lads out every week and they’re probably young so it possibly takes them a bit of time to break in when they’re playing senior football for the first time”, Michael explained.

Cloughaneely are currently situated in tenth position in Division 2, just two points above the relegation spots with four games remaining for them.

Lynch states that they’re going to require another couple of points to ease relegation fears and the quest for these points begins this evening when his outfit travel south to Glen to face Naomh Columba.

The Cloughaneely boss insists that it’s never an easy task heading to Glen and that they’re going to be entering this weekend’s encounter with a similar mindset as his own group of players.

“We’ll see how it goes. We’re a couple of boys down again but that’s the way it’s been all year. Going to Glen is never an easy trip no matter when it is. They’re probably looking at it in the same way as they may need a couple of more points as well to get out of trouble.”

He goes on to discuss the dogfight for survival there is in the bottom half of the league table with a whole host of teams still in contention for the drop and that it’s still all to play for as we approach the business end of the competition.

“We’ve four games left and everyone will be looking to take points off each other down at the bottom end. It’s a bit of a dogfight down there, I think there’s five or six teams between four and eight points so it’s all to be fought for yet.”