Turin hurlers have made great strides in the last few years, winning Intermediate Cups and under-21 championships. Long serving player Frank Aughey believes it is now time for the club to make more of an impact in the intermediate championship. For the first time in five years, Turin will face into a campaign without the services of manager Mick Murtagh, who has been credited with much of the side's success during his time at the helm. The former Clonkill and Westmeath hurler will always have a place in the hearts of Turin people and experienced player Frank Aughey admits that his successor will have a hard act to follow, although a change may be the best solution. "Mick has been magnificent for us during the four years he has been in charge. He is an easy going character, who worked very well with the players and could get his point across very easily. It will be a big change for a lot of the lads as they haven't trained with anyone else at this level," said Frank. "He felt that he brought the club as far as he could in the last few years and felt that it was time for a change. He will definitely be a hard man to replace, but you just have to move on and whoever takes over will have to try and fill his shoes. "The change could do us the world of good as a fresh approach might see the lads take that next step. We are lacking a few leaders at present. There are some excellent hurlers in the club, but when we are under pressure, there is not too many lads to stand and take the game by the scruff of the neck," added Frank. Despite being from a small catchment area, Turin's numbers at adult level are surprisingly impressive, such is that fact that they are capable of putting out a junior B side. However, the future is a worry for the club as their underage structure is not as strong as they would like. "We were fortunate that a group of lads came along at the same time there a few years back, but now we are struggling to fields teams at certain grades. I believe the main difference between us and other clubs is that we don't have a school to pick from. "Most of the young lads in the area either go to Loughegar or Killucan National schools and they will usually play for Clonkill or Raharney. This club is still very dependent on the few families in the area, but the long term is very worrying to say the least," stressed Frank. Turin have reached the penultimate stage of the intermediate championship for the past three years, but have not reached the final since 1997. Only four of that team are still playing, a fact that proves that the club have been transformed in the intervening years. "The majority of the squad are under-23 and the average age would only be about 24 or 25. We are lacking that bit of experience. Winning the under-21 title two years ago was a major boost for the club. "It's now time for those players to show more leadership. In some of our matches last year, we needed someone to lift the side and we just don't have those people yet, but I believe this year could see that all change," added Frank. "Mick Heffernan and Noel Poynton done great work with the underage teams during the late nineties and this group of lads are all on the intermediate team now. There are some fine hurlers among them." Turin began the 2005 campaign against old rivals Cullion. The sides have had many close battles down through the years and this one was to be no different as a draw was the outcome, 0-8 each. Championship favourites Brownstown, who had been relegated from the senior grade the previous year were the next opponents to face Turin. The Archerstown blues always had the upper hand when the sides meet during the eighties and early nineties, but the tide has begun to turn and although Brownstown emerged winners by a solitary point, Turin could take great heart from their performance. "We couldn't complain with our opening two performances, although maybe we should have won both. Brownstown and Turin would have been among the favourites for the title and to match them was a real bonus for us." Confidence was high going into the match against Southern Gaels but the loss of five or six players through holidays and injury left the side depleted and the Athlone side recorded a 1-12 to 1-10 victory. Following the match against Southern Gaels there was a break in the championship for over a month and during this time, Mick Murtagh used this period to focus his charges of picking up points in the campaign. "The break probably did us the world of good, because we played a number of good challenge matches and this improved the confidence of the players before the championship resumed." Winning ways were restored when Turin had three points to spare over eventual champions Crookedwood. A close fought match saw the reds win by 1-8 to 0-8, which was amazingly their first win of the campaign. The followed this up with a resounding victory over St Brigid's to guarantee a place in the semi-final, where they would meet rivals Crookedwood once again and Frank admitted that going into the match there was a genuine belief of booking a place in the final. "Definitely before the match we did not fear Crookedwood and were relatively pleased to be playing them. The lads knew we had a great chance of reaching the final, especially after beating them in the group stage," added Frank. The first half went to plan as Turin led by five points. However, the wood clawed their way back into the match and Turin's old problem of not been able to withstand the pressure reared its head again. Crookedwood finished strongly and had two points to spare over Turin, who were left despondent and wondering what might have been. "It was bitterly disappointing to lose the semi final. We had the chances, but couldn't finish Crookedwood off. Hopefully we have learned from this and go on next year and win the championship," stressed Frank. Crookedwood also defeated Turin in the intermediate Cup final that was played in early December and now the Reds must look forward to this year's campaign which is almost upon us. With players of the calibre like Nigel Cully, Barry Nea, Frank Aughey, John Gorman and Jerome Cully in their ranks, Turin have the players that can help them into the senior grade. Tweet

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