Finn rallies to players’ pleas to get involved on the line again
THERE are a lot of GAA people who would love to be in Gort mentor Mike Finn’s position heading into this weekend’s county senior hurling decider at Pearse Stadium, but one suspects he would gladly swap places for those few minutes when it comes to naming Sunday’s starting fifteen.
Sifting through the match-day programme, you could probably count approximately 24 Gort players who would be looking for – and genuinely expecting – game-time on Sunday and with only 15 starting berths available, there are sure to be some very disappointed heads in the dressing-room.
Consequently, having such a wealth of talent at your disposal – no more than St. Thomas’ – brings its own headaches when it comes to team selections and the hardest thing for any mentor to do is to inform a player that he will not be starting the biggest game of the year, although he may still have a role to play.
“It is no big secret; we do have the players,” begins Finn, who returned to the set-up this year after being part of the successful management structure that secured the club their last county senior title in 2014.
“We have a big panel so it cannot be about sentiment or anything like that. When picking the team, you just try to be fair and straight with everybody. If you are honest with the players, they might be disappointed but they can take the decision on its merits.”
Quite often, it is horses for courses. Finn concurs. “I suppose you have to keep one eye on who you are playing as well because that will influence your decision. For me, it is about putting our best foot forward and getting a performance.
“I wasn’t involved last year but I remember coming out of Kenny Park very disappointed (after the semi-final defeat) – not because we lost but because we didn’t perform. That is very hard to take.”
That said, without that level of competition in the squad, they would not be where they are. In recent years, they have lost big players to injury and managed to cope because they had the strength in depth.
This year, they were shorn of Galway centre-back Greg Lally in the Spring and, although he is expected to be fully fit for the county final after recovering from a medial ligament injury, Gort would not have made it this far without adequate cover and other players, such as Aidan Harte and Sylvie Óg Linnane, picking up the slack.
For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.