Cregg backs Rossies to stay afloat

Former Roscommon senior footballer, Cathal Cregg, believes that Roscommon can survive in Division One, despite admitting that the top division is stacked with better teams this season.

The Rossies will travel to Omagh as underdogs for their opening league game on Sunday, but Cregg feels that Davy Burke’s men will still have enough firepower to take something from the game, albeit the defence is likely to lack experience.

“Given what happened last year, it’s a game that Tyrone definitely won’t be taking for granted. Enda (Smith) missing is huge because you just can’t replace him. You’re probably looking at Keith Doyle and Dylan Ruane, who had a very good season last year, around the middle.

“Ciaráin (Murtagh) and Cian (McKeon) are huge losses but there is a good bit of back-up in the forward line. Daire Cregg is flying it. Cathal Heneghan looked very sharp in the first FBD game against Sligo. Andy Glennon looked very good when he came on against London. He’s a very talented player and I wouldn’t be surprised if he sees some game time.

“I probably would be more concerned about the likes of Conor Daly being gone. He has been a very good defender for us, very experienced and very hard to replace. Richard Hughes isn’t around. I just think we’re going to be light on experience in terms of our backs.

“There are a lot of good young defenders in there but they’re unproven at this level. Two or three of them will get a good bulk of game time over the coming months. I’d be expecting the Brigid’s lads back a week or two after their All-Ireland final, but you could be looking at them possibly missing the first two games."

In an ideal world, the St. Brigid's players should be putting their feet up for at least a month after last Sunday, but Cregg feels that they'll be catapulted back into action sooner rather than later to buttress Roscommon's league prospects.

“I accept that the Brigid’s lads need a rest. But Roscommon need them as well because Davy (Burke) doesn’t appear to be carrying a big squad this year.

“I wouldn’t be seeing Roscommon as contenders to win Division One, but I think they can just stay afloat. It will be tight but they could just do enough to stay there because we still have players who can win games for us up front. Playing Division One football has to be a focus if you want to be reaching All-Ireland quarter-finals or semi-finals, which is where this team want to get to.

“Roscommon probably need to target Tyrone, Galway, Mayo and Monaghan to get six points and then hopefully get a bit of luck along the way where Kerry and Derry might have nothing to play for in the last two games. If those two are going flat out, it’s hard to see us beating them but if they’ve qualified for the final or are happy with their lot, we’d have a chance,” the Western Gaels player summarised.

While last season ended on a disappointing note for the players and management, Cregg is fascinated to see what strategy Roscommon will adopt to the league and championship this season.

“They would have taken a lot of learnings from last year. They started the year very strongly. It was always going to be hard to sustain that the whole way through. The Kildare and Cork games towards the end of the season were disappointing because they represented a great chance for the team to progress in the championship.

“The team had a very good league campaign, and it’s great to be back in Division One and playing at that level again. It will only improve the team, particularly a lot of the younger players.

“It will be interesting to see how hard Roscommon, like any other team, go at the league. Will they go as hard as they did last year and try and stay in Division One? You’d have to say that Division One is stronger this year with Derry and Dublin coming up. Any of those teams could go on and win the league this year.

“Four away games — Tyrone, Dublin, Mayo and Derry — there’s nothing simple about any of them. We’ll need to get points at home against Galway and Monaghan,” he remarked.

As a player, Cregg loved the intensity of top-flight league football, and maintaining Division One status will always be a priority for the top teams, despite the change of structure in the All-Ireland championship in his view.

“No team will want to give up their Division One status. When I was playing, it was like having a championship game every week.

“There is a difference between Division One and Two. You cannot beat having seven Division One games. It forces you to realise where you’re at. You think you might be going well in Division Two and then you end up playing a Division One team like Galway or Mayo, and they’ll catch you out.

“Whereas when you play seven Division One games, you’re improving all the time if you’re competing at that level. I just don’t think that teams can afford to decide that we won’t bother with the league and just concentrate on the championship,” he concluded.