Antrim NHL focus: Lots to do for Davy Fitz' Saffrons but there’s a good foundation there

DARREN Gleeson’s first match in charge of the Antrim hurlers was an NHL Division 2A game against Wicklow in January 2020.

It was a cold day down in Aughrim – cold enough to seize up all the lawnmowers in the ground as the grass was a bit on the long side for a game of hurling.

When he departed at the end of last season, Gleeson left Antrim hurling in a much better state than he found it.

Two Joe McDonagh Cups, some memorable days at Corrigan Park, a couple of crazy Sundays down in Tullamore and Carlow, and keeping Antrim in Division One.

They endured some wretched away days in that time too - but every journey has different starting points.

Davy Fitzgerald’s starting point of his managerial journey with Antrim couldn’t be any more different than Gleeson wading through the long grass of Aughrim five seasons ago or hosting Mayo in Loughgiel a couple of weeks later.

The Clare man’s first match in charge of the Antrim hurlers will be on the resplendent field of Croke Park on Saturday evening, under the lights against their nemesis of recent seasons Dublin.

Antrim’s opener couldn’t be any tougher – but after a League rejig at the end of last season Division 1B has a very different, less intimidating look about it.

Westmeath (h), Offaly (a), Waterford (h), Carlow (a) and Laois (h) – in that order – is what Davy Fitz will be facing over the next couple of months.

The Dubs and Waterford would be fancied to claim the top two berths. Antrim would feel they’re in the shake-up too, but there are enough historical reminders in their other fixtures that suggests the division might be tougher than it looks on paper.

Moreover, a serious amount of energy was expended during the Gleeson years. Have they enough young blood to replenish and reinvigorate the panel?

Fitzgerald is also trying to initiate significant changes to Antrim’s style of play and has urged patience to allow that process to breathe.

At a press event last week, Clare’s 2013 All-Ireland winning manager told reporters that coaching the Antrim hurlers was “nearly like teaching someone how to walk again”.

You sense a bit of codology on Fitzgerald’s part - but he defended the unflattering ‘learning to walk’ analogy and perhaps added more context to it.

“Those comments were exactly meant that way,” he said.

“There is no doubting the players’ hurling ability - we won’t have a problem with that, but you’re not going to survive on hurling ability. You need different aspects to your play.

“On breaking ball, we were very bad. Ball watching, very bad. We were constantly looking at the ball instead of concentrating on the next phase of play. And we were average enough in the tackle.

“If you’re thinking phases of play, you’ve to go back and work on them. And you’ve to think about it; so that’s what I’m saying ‘starting to walk again’ means you’re thinking about it: it’s slow, it’s slow, it’s slow but they’ll get there.”

The former Clare goalkeeper added: “We coach certain things. We talk about it before we go out. We video it and show it there and then. Do it, show it, do it, show it, do it, show it.

“It’s repetitive. To make it a habit, you have to keep doing it. That was my comment about the walking. We’ll start off slow but keep doing it and, hopefully, we won’t break stride, and we won’t have to think about it after a while.”

If some Antrim Gaels thought Davy Fitz was coming north to promise the moon and the stars, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

The former Waterford and Wexford boss has not come all this way to “build sandcastles in the sky” – and is probably on the money when he says nobody will fear Antrim in this division.

“If you ask Offaly, I’m sure they’re targeting Antrim. Westmeath beat us in the League last year. They’re not going to fear us. I was at the game two or three years ago in Portlaoise when Laois beat us. They’re not going to fear us.

“Carlow will think they’ll be there or thereabouts. None of those teams fears Antrim.”

In preparation for this League campaign, Antrim have played arguably more challenge games than they generally would have played Walsh Cup games only for the pre-season competitions to be shelved by the GAA.

But there were enough signs in their friendly games – some were friendlier than others, mind - against Derry, Down, Limerick and Meath to suggest Antrim will play a more direct game with a sweeper under the charismatic Sixmilebridge man.

From what he’s seen so far, the new manager has been impressed with Niall McKenna and James McNaughton under the high ball.

Overall, he’s been encouraged by “patches” of play in challenge games; they just need to stretch them out a bit more.

Misery is often associated with pre-season training, it’s part of the terrain for every team, but there mightn’t be as much misery in Fitzgerald’s regime as has been painted.

“I find the mix of people on the panel great,” Fitzgerald said.

“I had them down in my own place a couple of weeks ago and I had no problem with these guys. They trained hard but we had a bit of craic as well.

“Do you know what, there’s goodness in them. That’s very important. They are good lads. I like the way they carry themselves. Even when my family were around them, they felt the same thing. I really like that.

“I wanted to have the craic with them. It can’t all be, ‘kill them all the time’. They’ve given it to me a few times too – and I want that.

“What I want for these Antrim boys is to enjoy every single day they go out. I don’t want any white flags. That’s the most important thing to me.”

Everyone will get a snapshot of what the Antrim hurlers have been doing over the last number of weeks after Saturday night’s expected baptism of fire in Croke Park.

But what a place to start the journey.