CONOR Whelan has conceded that Galway are a team 'in transition' as they attempt to rekindle the glory years under Henry Shefflin - and the statistics bear this out.
No team across the Allianz League's two Division One groups has used as many players as the Tribesmen, a whopping 35 compared to Antrim's mere 24 at the other end of the experimentation scale.
Joe Canning, Colm Callanan, Jonathan Glynn and Aidan Harte - all starters in Galway's 2017 All-Ireland win - have since retired, leaving experienced performers like Whelan to help usher through a new generation of talent.
The results so far under Shefflin have been mixed with a morale boosting win over Limerick last month followed by losses to Wexford and Cork, taking Galway out of the title race and leaving Sunday's home game against Clare as a dead rubber.
With the Championship just around the corner, the pressure is on Shefflin to find some form and settle on a preferred lineup.
"We are obviously a team in transition," acknowledged attacker Whelan, now in his eighth season. "We have a lot of experienced lads who have stepped away and a lot of younger lads who are coming through and that is very much our focus now, trying to build and rebuild. That focus is from the players really.
"You have to take it day by day and game by game. We have Wexford in the first round of the Championship and that will be a huge test and a huge battle.
"Wexford are a formidable side and we are just focusing on trying to bring through younger players and that is a process that is not done overnight. So that is something you have to accept, that any team will go through stages where they are in transition.
"That is not saying that we are not competitive, just saying that there are younger lads getting experience under their belt and experience to able to compete at the highest level."
Canning, arguably the hurler of his generation and the 2017 Player of the Year, has left the biggest hole in the team to fill though Whelan said it's not a case of trying to find a direct replacement.
"It is not something that you say, 'I have to do this' or 'I have to do that'," said Whelan. "Joe was absolutely an incredible player and an excellent character to the group. He will obviously be a huge loss along with Aidan Harte but that is just part and parcel of sport.
"I suppose it gives other players an opportunity to come into the team. As players, we always try to do our best and that is very much where the focus is. You are trying to improve as an individual as opposed to getting carried away trying to be something.
"For myself, when you have been around for eight years and Joe was someone you would be friendly with, you are disappointed to see him go.
"It is the same with Aidan and James Skehill and Colm Callanan and others that stepped away. That is just part of the sport and you accept that you are only passing through and very much enjoying that you are able to do it."
