"I got asked back and I was happy enough to come back. We were going
well and training is going well. Decisions were made and I suppose things
were said in the heat of the moment. It’s all turned out for the best.
I’m back in and going well, so I’d like to think we’d improve."
Cavan’s Seanie Johnston on his return to the Cavan panel after
being told he might not play for the county again after heading off for
America last summer and missing the All-Ireland qualifiers
"Lately I’ve been a bit homesick because I know now I’m
in it for the long haul, but it’s just a matter of dealing with it.
It’s been very difficult learning a new sport, especially being away
from home, because I’ve always had my parents’ opinions from watching
me playing games. At the start it was tough just learning how to use the
ball, bouncing it and kicking it, and I was struggling with that, but I’ve
got the hang of that now."
Mayo’s Pierce Hanley admits there are times during his burgeoning
Australian Football Rules career that he can’t help but miss home
"I think players were probably resigned to the fact that if this thing
wasn’t resolved that the year would be a write-off. For guys like myself,
we would be looking at our careers gone at that stage."
Sean Og O’hAilpin says that his intercounty career in a Cork
jersey could have been over if the players dispute was not sorted out
"What would worry me about rules and position at the beginning of
the league is that fellas are being penalised for pick-offs off the ground
or for pernickety things. But that doesn’t hold in the heat of a Connacht
final, a Leinster final or a Munster final as the trend of referees will
have changed. I am saying that as a general point, not an individual criticism.
It just seems to be a pattern that there are a lot of cards being shown
early in the league."
Mayo football boss John O’Mahony believes that referees have
a stricter interpretation of playing rules at the beginning of the year
and ease up as the season progresses
"I hope people don’t get carried away by the achievements at underage
level in recent years or how we’ve started in the last six weeks. You’d
have to look at the Limerick experience with U21 All-Ireland titles or even
Galway over the years, and be cautious. Success at senior level isn’t
going to happen overnight; we’d be under no illusions about that."
Tipperary boss Liam Sheedy plays down the Tipperary fan’s expectations
over what type of success will come their way this year
"I do expect us to put in a big performance in the championship this
year. They went to an All-Ireland final last year; they don’t become
bad players overnight."
New Cork football manager Conor Counihan plays down the suggestion
that it will be difficult for his charge to be competitive in 2008 after
the players dispute