Cleary: Cork footballers need to be in Division 1

BY SEÁN HOLLAND

PROMOTION to Division 1 of the national football league is key to the development of the Cork footballers, insists manager John Cleary.

The Castlehaven man has never hid the need for the Rebels to join the elite in the top tier of the football league, with Cork on the outside looking in since being relegated from Division 1 in 2016.

Multiple attempts to secure promotion from Division 2 have come up short in the years since, and while Cleary believes his charges have not yet been hindered by their position in Division 2, the next phase in the team's development calls for a push to the top division.

‘Up to now, I don't think we have been handicapped because we weren't good enough’, Cleary remarked.

‘I do think now at this stage in the development of this team and the players, that it would definitely help us if we were in Division 1. Having said that, the last two All-Ireland winners have come from Division 2 (Dublin in 2023 and Armagh 2024), so it has been very competitive down there.

‘Maybe a couple of teams at the lower end of Division 2 weren't near what happened at the top end, but we had Dublin and Derry and then this year we had Armagh and Donegal; it's as good as what's around. But I do think for the progression of a team, you probably need seven top-class league games. The aim is to try and get there,’ Cleary insisted.

Cork will be joined in next season’s Division 2 by Cavan, Down, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon and Westmeath so, on paper, it looks like an opportunity to take one of the two promotion spots up for grabs.

Preparation for the 2025 league, and promotion bid, will look a little different next January after the decision to suspend all January pre-season competitions. The removal of the McGrath Cup from the GAA calendar will raise questions about the impact on pre-season preparations for Cork. Cleary stated he was a supporter of the competition, and expressed his disappointment at the development, noting that it provided valuable structure for teams ahead of the league.

‘I was a fan, because it gave you a structured game. You could experiment and do whatever you wanted to do with those games, but it gave you a structured game,’ Cleary explained.

The Cork boss highlighted the difference between McGrath Cup matches and traditional challenge games, emphasising the benefits of playing in a more formal, publicised environment.

‘There's publicity in it. There’s a crowd watching. Friendlies are different in that maybe you don't have a full set of officials. It's a game that's not reported on and there's no big pressure on. Whereas even in the McGrath Cup, there are previews of it, there's always a report and sometimes it’s televised. I did like playing in it. I think it was good preparation,’ he added.