Clarke's men rise to challenge

Paddy Clarke chuckles at the memory of the arrangements made for Louth's first league game against Kerry.

"We were talking to them between the drawn All-Ireland final and the replay. It was just a matter of getting things finalised, but, understandably enough, they were a bit incredulous at the other end, as if to say, `look, here we are trying to win an All-Ireland and youse are asking about next season's league'," he laughs.

"And you had to sympathise with their viewpoint. It's only natural that they would have a different attitude towards the first round of the league to us. Whether that shows on Saturday or not remains to be seen."

In many ways, it is a perfect opening to life in Division One for Paddy Clarke's boys. Showing faith with a live-wire bunch of novices last winter, Clarke guided the county to the Division Two league title and they played pretty football before lucklessly falling to Kildare in the championship.

With a lengthy period of recuperation between that defeat and the resumption of competitive football, the east-coast team has been warmly anticipating the league and to walk onto the home turf of the new All-Ireland champions for the first match of the season is enough to set the pulse racing.

"In a sense it is a daunting task, but perhaps it's a good time to play Kerry. It is preferable to play them now rather than next spring when they are fully focused again and might need the points. But, as well as that, there will be a sense of occasion about the thing.

"It's in Killarney on a bank holiday, I'm sure the place will be swelled with Kerry people there to pay tribute to their heroes. We'll probably form a guard of honour to welcome them onto the field, so it will be a fairly dramatic beginning to our Division One experience."

It is almost obligatory now for GAA folk to describe winter training with images that suggest hardship and misery not witnessed in this country since famine times. Clarke, though, is an unapologetic enthusiast when it comes to the drudgery of floodlit sessions on wet, mournful nights when the rest of the county is indoors.

"It's what keeps me going. I love the dressing-room, just the banter and the camaraderie and the idea of a group of people all working towards the same goal. And this particular team, they are very enthusiastic. I know that, no matter what we ask them to do at training, they will apply themselves and willingly.

"You get a certain buzz, a sense of accomplishment from that alone, from seeing that willingness. Turning out on these nights is no problem for me. In fact, I don't know how I'll ever manage to give it up."

Clarke is realistic when it comes to appraising where Louth exist in the greater scheme of things. He admits that the local reaction to their Division Two win was nothing short of "euphoric" and is well aware that the feat would be met with total indifference in many other counties.

"That was our first win in Croke Park, of any sort, since 1957. That's what it has to be measured against. We know it wasn't the biggest thing in the world, but to win anything concrete at inter-county level is something to be celebrated.

"What we had last year was a fantastic young bunch that probably over-achieved. Some of the older players were taking a break and these young fellas went out each Sunday with no fear of losing their place. So they played boldly and developed a winning streak."

Whether they are of Division One quality or not remains to be seen, but survival is now the main ambition.

"I know that the stronger counties, like Kerry or Galway, tend to approach the league with one eye on the championship. But, for us, it is probably better to approach it one game at a time. You can mentally map out your season, ear-mark games where you have the potential to pick up points, but it rarely works out as you have envisaged.

"In Killarney the next day, Kerry might well hockey us, but it's so unpredictable at this time of year that we could even hockey them. Not many people will give us a chance of that, but who knows?"

Clarke's involvement as a selector on the International Rules management team this year gave him a valuable insight to the personalities of many of the players his team will face over the coming season. His commitment to Ireland curtailed his involvement with Louth in the B championship, but that Louth had a recognisable presence on the squad was important he believes.

"The experience was something that will long live with me although the last day in Croke Park was hard to stomach. It was just that we failed to get going at all and in front of 60,000 people. Young kids had travelled from the likes of Mayo to cheer on Colm McMenamon or Leitrim for Seamus Quinn and, well, it didn't work out for reasons well documented.

"But while many counties expect to see their own involved with the Rules team, for a county like Louth, trying to re-establish itself, it is a positive thing to see someone from the county involved at that level."

The five Louth players who trained with the panel also learned a lot. "They saw that the big-name players were human, same as them. They realised that, if they all did a series of sprints, the biggest starts in the game were as knackered as they were. It took away the awe factor, which should hopefully aid us this year."

Louth's panel bears a similar look to last year, with Cathal O'Hanlon, Stephen O'Hanlon and Ken Reilly drafted back in after taking a sabbatical.

"We felt we needed a big, ball-playing midfielder at Division One - all the top teams have at least one mobile big man, but, in essence, the team will be comprised of the younger players that got us to Division One. This county is still in transition.

"I believe we last played Kerry in Killarney around 1968 and we won that match," says Clarke. "Could be a good omen. But we'll see."

Louth will learn much about themselves over the coming three games leading into the Christmas break and they are due to spend some of January in Spain, in recognition of their recent league achievements. It is not, all things considered, the worst position to be in.

"We have a long way to go, but we are happy right now," says Clarke. "First game of the season in the backyard of the All-Ireland champions. Where else would you want to be?"