Ulster should follow Munster university V county lead - McAleenan
December 02, 2014
UCC celebrate their 2014 Sigerson Cup success. INPHO
Barney McAleenan says Ulster counties shouldn't call upon their university players until after the Sigerson Cup.
McAleenan, who manages UUJ alongside Adrian McGuckin, reckons this approach works perfectly down south - as UUC and Kerry demonstrated this year:
"It's difficult to get all the lads together, to get preparation," he says in The Irish News. "You compare that with UCC and CIT. Cork or Kerry don't see the players until after the Sigerson.
"Last year, UCC won the Sigerson but Kerry went on and won the All-Ireland. UCC had the players until after the Sigerson was over, their team was playing to a high standard, there was a bonding, a togetherness.
"They develop at Sigerson level and then they go on to Cork or Kerry and it's not stopping them going on to win the All-Ireland.
"I would like to see that here. If you look back to the '90s when Down and Donegal and Derry had success, there's no doubt that Queen's, Jordanstown and St Mary's were all very competitive at Sigerson level and they produced players who went on to represent those counties and win All-Ireland medals."
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