01 February 2012
Antrim manager Liam Bradley is looking forward to the start of the national league which opens this Saturday night at home to Sligo in Casement Park, throw in 7pm.
“We feel we didn’t do ourselves justice in the league last year for a whole lot of reasons. That is in the past now and we are looking for a strong start this weekend. Antrim and Sligo know each other very well now, I think this is our 6th game since I became manager. They have won 3 and we’ve won 2, well, we are looking to even the score.”
At the beginning of the McKenna Cup Bradley said he was keen to discover a handful of players who would be pushing for starting places come the league. It was clear that the returning Conal Kelly and Brian Neeson among others made an impact in those games, as did Michael Magill in his outing v Fermanagh. Each of those three have played league games in previous seasons and in Kelly’s case he is returning to the squad having lived outside the county for a few years. So is there a fresh feeling about the Antrim camp at this early stage of the season?
“For sure there is a fresh approach. The whole backroom team has been shaken up and Paul, Gearoid and Andy have brought a whole new approach. There are new players too of course and that keeps everyone on their toes. A few players who would be starters are ruled out through injury, suspension or unavailability but supporters can be sure we will be fielding a strong team on Saturday night, and I hope there will be plenty of supporters there to give the guys a lift.”
Bradley’s passion for Antrim is as strong as ever and he is eyeing up a promotion push. “If we win our three home games for starters then we will be in the hunt for promotion, that work starts on Saturday. We are in a similar situation to Sligo – both teams got promoted from Division 4 to 3 and then 2 before getting relegated again. Both have appeared in provincial finals and you can be sure that Sligo will be looking for promotion too. It may come down on Saturday to which team has the bigger appetite for success. And our boys are hungry, that’s for sure.”
Antrim V Sligo, 7pm Casement Park, Saturday.
Kids accompanied by adults are admitted free, if coming in a group, 1 mentor will get free admission for every ten kids.
