The spirit is still willing

Last night, Clare football manager Tommy Curtin strolled across the pitch and surveyed the wreckage that once was a team. It is a tough enough break that Clare open their championship campaign with a visit to play Kerry in Killarney, but their casualty list almost reads like a cruel joke from above. Battalions have seen live action and come away in a healthier state.

Banjaxed limbs, twisted backs, mis-shapen hands, at least one fever . . . you spend a season training them to take the hits only to see them drop like flies before the real thing even begins.

"We really aren't playing games here, it's something of a dilemma," admits Curtin.

"We met on Tuesday evening and failed to select a team, so prevalent were the injuries, but hopefully we'll be able to do that tonight. But the realistic scenario is that we might have to play Kerry missing six to seven lads who would be regular and vital players on this team," he says.

Prominent on the list - which will require an alphabetical ordering if it lengthens any more - are Martin Daly and full forward Ciaran Considine, who has been delivering for the team all season.

On the face of it the situation seems so bleak as to render Sunday's clash against Kerry a non event.

"No, this is something we are looking forward to," Curtin says. "Playing Kerry in the championship is what it's about and they have been the team to beat over the past four years. Certainly, the spate of injuries have put us at something of a disadvantage, but we expect to keep this close and hopefully scrape through."

Curtin assumed responsibility for Clare before the National League this year and found the subsequent months educational and surprisingly pleasant.

"The one thing any manager wonders is if they are going to get the commitment. After the first evening, I had no worries about that. The effort these lads have put in has been amazing and our season was built on that readiness to work."

The pre-eminence of the county hurlers in recent seasons has naturally captured the imagination of the local sporting public, but that devotion has not made the footballers feel marginalised. "We have taken a great lift from what they have achieved and there has always been great co-operation between the two camps. We have no reason to complain at all. Clare football is well followed and the county board have treated us brilliantly, so there has never been a question of hurling overshadowing our own team at all."

Yet Clare's progress since that seminal year in 1992, when they carried off the Munster title after a colourful run, has been patchy at best. The fact is that Clare, always good value in the league, have won just one game since in the championship.

"That's true," offers Curtin, "but to be honest, I'm not really too interested in statistics. Nineteen ninety-two was a marvellous year but there is no point in comparing ourselves to that. Since I have taken over, we have tried to develop a forward-looking approach. This is a panel in the midst of rebuilding and it's pointless trying to re-evaluate what has or hasn't been done in the past."

A former player with the county, Curtin believes there is plenty of reason for optimism at the state of the game in the county right now.

"You only have to refer to Doonbeg's great performances at club level to get an idea of the standard. At county level, we feel we have been developing all year and we came through a crunch game against Monaghan at the end of the season to retain our Division One status, so there has been a very positive buzz at training since then."

Although he admits a roundrobin format would be more advantageous to Clare, he nonetheless feels that they can realistically compete within the knock-out frame.

"Watching the Clare-Tipp hurling games highlights how much game practice can benefit a team. Clare were just a different side in the replay. Kerry have already oiled the limbs against Tipperary and regardless of what happened that day, they are a fine, fine side. If we are to compete, we are going to simply have to play at a higher level than we managed to reach in the league. Probably not many people fancy us to do that but we know we have a lot of ability in this side."