Mike McGurn can't understand why there's such a big fuss every time a player withdraws from the Antrim senior football panel.

The Saffrons' strength and conditioning coach points out that players are under no obligation to stay on if they don't want to and that there are defections from all squads:

"At the end of the day, playing football is an amateur sport. Players don't have to be there," the Fermanagh native says in The Irish News.

"If they leave, they leave, and good luck to them. You move on. But if somebody leaves the Antrim panel, it's almost like there's a hidden agenda to them leaving.

"I know it might sound a bit callous but if somebody leaves I really couldn't care. Players leave panels, it happens all the time in gaelic football. A few boys leave and you say 'thanks very much and good luck'.

"At the end of the league and players leaving was almost like a natural break. Some players have left and don't want to play championship, which is surprising. A few players have come in - the likes of Kieran McGourty and Colm Duffin - and to be honest they've been a breath of fresh air."

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