BURT manager Martin McGrath admits their nine week lay-off since winning the Donegal SHC title hasn’t been great as they venture into the Ulster Intermediate Championship for the first time since 2015.
Burt beat Ulster Intermediate Champions Setanta in the Donegal decider but that win came in August, with their next competitive game today and McGrath feels it gives them a disadvantage.
“We have seven or eight under 21s and they have got plenty of matches, but the boys on the other side of 21 haven’t got any so it has been about trying to get that balance right, we need to make sure those boys that haven’t been getting games are up to speed.
“It has been tough, it’s nine weeks since the county final and it’s something that the Donegal GAA probably have to look at. The other counties in Ulster and even in Connacht, their county finals have been in the last two or three weeks which isn’t too bad compared to the nine weeks we have had.
“There probably is a way that it can be integrated better because it’s tough on players who have had a long enough season and you’re asking them to go another eight or nine weeks without any games.
“There could be a possibility of one week on and one off or even two weeks football then one hurling, it needs looked at anyway because it’s a long time waiting on what could only be one match.
“Three different times I had matches lined up but there was another fixture put on against it every time, between the reserves getting to the (Intermediate reserve) final and last weekend the U21 final was called off so difficult would be putting it mildly!”
Burt travel to Páirc Esler to face Down Intermediate champions Bredagh on Sunday.
The Down side won the same competition last year but didn’t fare well in the provincial championship as they lost to Kickhams Creggan, who were beaten by Setanta’s final opponents Carrickmore.
But they won by 4-17 to 1-16 in their final over Carryduff two weeks ago and will go into the game on a high.
“I don’t know much about them, I know they put up a big score in the final and they were in an Antrim league which they won so they have been going well all year and they have had plenty of tight games under their belt.
“But the other side of it is maybe you’re better off knowing less, you can over analyse teams sometimes but hopefully on Saturday if we can play our own game then it’ll be enough to get over the line.
“The way these Ulster games go, it’s on the day really and it could go either way, we’re away so it is a trek to Newry and that probably gives them a slight advantage.
“But you don’t know when you’ll be back in Ulster again so it’s important to give it a go.
“We’re short a few, Ciaran Curran has been out with an ACL injury then Caolan McDermott and Stephen Gallagher emigrated to Australia after the final.
“If you said at the start of the year we were guaranteed to be playing Ulster Intermediate we would have taken the arm off you because it meant we had a good season. It will be a test but we have some very good young players that want to be playing against better players and they’ll get that opportunity on Sunday.”
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