by Jackie Cahill

It is now almost certain that Colm Collins will return for a fourth year in charge of the Clare senior footballers.

In his review of the season at Tuesday's county baord meeting, Collins hailed promotion from Division 3 of the Allianz League and stated that "the importance of gaining promotion and playing in Division 2 in 2017 cannot be overstated."

But Collins expressed disappointment with Clare's championship performances against Kerry - as the Banner County suffered defeats to the Kingdom in the Munster semi-final and again at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage.

Referring first to the provincial clash, Collins admitted: "We were extremely disappointed with our performance on the day.

"In the qualifiers, we had three victories against Laois, Sligo and Roscommon.

"The Roscommon victory was a very special day - our first victory against Division 1 opposition."

Commenting on the Kerry loss later in the season at Croke Park, Collins added: "Yet again, we were left unsatisfied with our performance and Kerry ran out comfortable winners.

"Overall, we are satisfied with our progress in 2016 and we feel the team is improving all the time."

While hailing the impressive training facility for county teams at Caherlohan, Collins also noted: "One area that could be improved on is the gym, it needs to be updated, but everything else is top class."

Tweet

Most Read Stories