BY SEÁN HOLLAND
AFTER Cork got their defence of the O’Duffy Cup off to a winning start, defeating Wexford 1-15 to 1-6, manager Ger Manley is readying his troops for the long trip across the border to face Down in Newry this Saturday (1pm).
The Cork boss spoke to The Southern Star, detailing how his side are preparing for their second All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 2 clash.
‘We went back training on Monday night, and just did a small bit’, he said.
‘We did a recovery session on Tuesday night and were training again Wednesday night. Normally, we go Monday, Wednesday, and a game on a Saturday.
‘This week, the game is at one o’clock on Saturday which makes it awkward for us. We couldn't go up Saturday morning, so we're heading Friday evening and staying above in a hotel in Newry. It wouldn’t make sense to head up at four or five in the morning for a match.’
Looking ahead to Down, Manley and his management team will be looking to freshen up the squad but the Cork boss isn’t underestimating the challenge the Ulster side will bring.
‘We played them last year and they have lots of good players. It’s our third week in a row so we’ll make a couple of changes to freshen up a small bit,’ he said.
‘The important thing is to win. You can't underestimate any team because it's fairly even between the top teams. On any given day, a team could beat you. We're treating Down with the respect they deserve, so even though we’ll make a few changes we'll still have a strong team out,’ he admitted.
Manley also explained what the week ahead will look like for his squad as they will face their fourth game in four weeks when the Rebels play Clare on June 8th.
‘We'll probably lighten training next week. It’s a long trip to Down on the bank holiday weekend, and it will be late Saturday evening when we're at home. We won't train Monday, we'll leave it off,’ Manley said.
‘We'll probably go for two days next week. We've had a hard couple of weeks where we were in Thurles for the Munster final with Waterford, then at home in Wexford. Now it’s Down away and Clare away. It's a fair bit of travelling, so it's a tough month.’
