Roscommon captain Conor Devaney told People Sport this week that while his teammates had presumed this week’s game against Galway would “double-up” as the FBD League Final, the extra game would be beneficial for match sharpness.
“The extra game is no harm so I don’t think it worked out too badly from our point of view. Getting two National Football League games and then another against Galway is not a bad thing in terms of preparation.
“The FBD League is good for a number of reasons really. Firstly it helps with finalising a panel ahead of the national league. It gives players an opportunity – if they perform well in the FBD then they will most likely feature in the NFL,” he said.
As for fixtures in general and the “month for clubs”, Devaney says that provided it’s scheduled properly, the new fixtures plan can be a step in the right direction.
“After the league it’s nice to get a month back with the club. I can see why people are saying that the county comes first (in new plan) but if you look at the Michael Glavey’s lads, they haven’t trained with Roscommon so far and hopefully they won’t be back until after their club championship finishes in March.
“For us it’s fortunate that our (championship) game is later in May but for other counties who play in early May, it might not work out. It will work out for about 50% of counties though.
“I think it will go some way to alleviate the pressure because most counties will be able to play club championships in August and September. The full month in April is a great idea as long as the schedule can be sorted out. The start of the provincial championships should be the same all over the country”.
