Armagh sure to be fit for battle

ENDA McNULTY may have returned to the Armagh fold last Thursday night, and they are primed to round off an impressive National League campaign by claiming the Division Two title on Sunday against Down, but the intimidating aura of Joe Kernan’s 2002 All-Ireland winning group appears confined to history.

Still, an emphasis on physical development remains a priority with new manager Paddy O’Rourke adding the conditioning expert Mike McGurn – of Irish rugby and Bernard Dunne fame – in a consultation role to his backroom team this season.

The media are always keen to make comparisons and the Armagh players’ body shapes at the turn of the century were vastly bigger than your average intercounty whippet but such replication is not what McGurn perceives his role to be.

“Maybe back then they were doing more body-building weights. We have been doing more power-based weights because we don’t want them getting any bigger. I don’t think being that big is conducive to Gaelic football and particularly the style that we play which has quite a lot of running involved.

“We have quite a lot of work done in the gym. If they didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t do it and we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have.”

McGurn would love to be entering the Croke Park arena with his native Fermanagh but coming with a Gaelic football panel is more satisfying than his involvement with Ireland in the Eddie O’Sullivan years.

“Believe it or not, it’s my first Gaelic game at Croke Park after all the rugby matches.”

Armagh would like to bring him back in high summer ensuring the Down game is really just the phoney war ahead of the opening Ulster championship collision with Derry on May 16th.

“We were always going to be tapering for Derry with four weeks to go so this comes at a perfect time. We haven’t actually talked about the Down match – you wouldn’t even think there’s a final going on. But it’s great to get a game like this because it’s worth 10, 20 training sessions to you. It’s great to come down to Croke Park on Sunday because we have a lot of young lads and it will be great for their development as a GAA player to experience it. It’ll be great ahead of the Derry game.”

Always one for making training player specific – for example, when he was flogging former super bantamweight champion Bernard Dunne it was usually over 12 three-minute sessions with 60 second intervals before the each blitz. Just like a fight.

“Teams are playing a lot of games in training, which is great. It’s great for me because it means I don’t have to plan anything. I think teams are playing a lot more 15-a-side in training these days. You train to play and players love to play – once you say ‘we’re playing a match tonight’ the whole mood just lifts.”

It’s not that simple of course, but McGurn makes it sound like it is. The players will be the first to admit the sight of him in high spirits means only one thing: devilishly hard work.

Ireland manager Anthony Tohill evidently agrees as McGurn remains part of the International Rules coaching ticket that is preparing for the two Test series against Australia in October.

- Due to ongoing travel restrictions Saturday’s Connacht championship match between New York and Galway at Pearse Stadium has been postponed. The game has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 9th, at 6.30pm.