The new restrictions on collective training and challenge matches in November and December have been slammed by Down manager Ross Carr. Like most inter-county managers, Carr has been left frustrated by the Croke Park directive which is aimed at reducing player burnout and the amount of money spent by county boards on training. Carr claims the restrictions will turn the McKenna Cup, which gets underway early in the New Year, into a series of trial matches at a time when the Ulster Council are seeking to raise the profile of the pre-season competition. "Somebody came up with a buzzword called burnout and decided that they had to do something about it," he said. "If the GAA wanted to stop burnout, in my opinion, should've told every county 'get your leagues read up by the 30th of September or the first week of October. "Tell all the universities that the university season starts in October and finishes on the 31st of December and in those two situations. I believe you would have club players being rested and then you would have university fellas who would have January and February as a rest. "Whoever came up with this idea is mad." Tweet

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