No way back for Galway football absentees
By Oisin Cusack
GALWAY football manager Padraic Joyce has said the door is closed for players who left the panel this year.
Adrian Varley, Ian Burke and Michael Daly all quit the panel this year and Joyce does not see them returning in the near future.
“The lads that are not on the squad are not included because they couldn’t commit to it so we won’t parachute them back into the main squad,” said Joyce.
Joyce has introduced a feeder squad system this year that includes U-20 development players. He will add players from the feeder squad rather than asking others to return.
“The feeder squad is there, it’s self explanatory – it will feed the senior squad. We’ve already used it this year for Cillian McDaid who got injured and we took Jack Glynn from it and put him in the senior squad. It’s there to help Galway football and it’s something that hasn’t been done in the past,” he said.
The new feeder system aims to keep club players in contention for the senior panel.
“We are focusing on it this year because when a player is 20 and goes away from the county set-up back to his club, they can kind of fall away from the system,” Joyce said.
“I’m not disrespecting the clubs, but some just aren’t as well organised as others and you end up losing some lads.”
Joyce believes the feeder squad could allow players a seamless transition into the senior team.
“It doesn’t take players a month to adjust to the squad. We know where they are. When they come into the senior squad, they’re not alien too it,” he added.
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