It may be the first month of the year, but Clare joint-manager Donal Moloney is looking forward to their clash against Cork on Sunday.
The sides meet in the second round of the Munster SHL and a win for the Banner would see them through to the final, having defeated Kerry comfortably last time out.
Early season competitions are used primarily to blood new players and while this is the case for Clare also; with the league starting in a few short weeks, it is also the ideal opportunity to get up to match fitness.
"We look forward to that because that's what we want this time of the year. We will have a different mix out," Moloney told the Clare Champion.
He added: "We could be going every weekend between now and March and the we have got the championship, a new structure. It is a different set up and you need a stronger panel and that's the reason why we are bringing in new guys to see how they will get on and see can we add a bit of depth to the panel.
"We had a big panel last year and we are quite optimistic about some of the guys that have come in, like Diarmuid Ryan, who has been going quite well in training."
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