John Farrell believes college teams are unlikely to withdraw from the McKenna Cup.

There are fears that Jordanstown, Queen's and St Mary's could all pull out of Ulster's subsidiary intercounty competition if county teams insist on having first call on their players and speaking in today's Irish News, Farrell - who doubles up as chairman of the Ulster Higher Education Council and president of Jordanstown GFC - notes:

"There have been problems in the past, mainly with Tyrone. Last year, there were considerable negotiations with St Mary's to keep them in the competition.

"If those three counties took their players, that would be six to seven players from each university / college. That would have serious implications.

"There has to be a balance somewhere or else what would be the point?

"Given that the fixtures are out and given the relationship with the Ulster Council, withdrawal would be a doomsday scenario.

"I'm not saying it's not possible because the universities will say 'What's the sense in putting in a list of 26 players and losing six or seven of them?'" Tweet

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