Conor Deegan has called for players to be protected from over-training.

The newly-appointed Down U21 manager and two-time All-Ireland winning full back says many players are 'losing their appetite' because of the demands that are being placed on them.

"We have a phenomenal product, but it's not right at the moment. The balance is wrong," he said in the Irish News.

"The biggest issue now is that we're asking so much of our players. The amount of training they're having to go through, their lives are put on hold. We have to get things more streamlined. Let's not train them to death because that's what we're doing. We're keeping them training all year round - there is no off switch.

"Boys get tired, they get fed up, they have a life away from it. When is a player's peak now? If you keep dragging these young fellas all over the place, they're going to lose their appetite for it."

Deegan added that the demands on modern players are far greater than when he was in playing for Down in the 1990s.

"It was a different time. We weren't the same - we didn't live in the gym five days a week. We trained a lot, but we didn't do what these boys do today.

"These boys never get a break, they're been flogged into the ground. There has to be a point when you say 'we've got to stop this'."

Tweet

Most Read Stories