*Clare coach, Brendan Bugler. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
STRUGGLES to produce a consistent seventy minute performance is jumping out at Clare’s management as an area to rectify following their three defeats in the Allianz National Hurling League.
Clare went to Cusack Park on Sunday for their third outing in this season’s league “hoping to win but Wexford performed better than us on the day and won and that’s it”.
So said Clare coach and selector Brendan Bugler shortly after the final whistle and just before he put the members of the panel not involved in Sunday’s game through a training session.
The Whitegate native acknowledged “this was a really important game for both teams. We had lost our first two games and they had lost a few also”.
The St. Flannan’s College teacher noted, “we got off to a good start but we have to be consistent for 70 minutes and we weren’t, we were for 10 to 15 minutes and our second half was really poor. We will have to address it now on the training field on Tuesday and Friday night ahead of next Sunday’s game”.
Clare’s next game is against their Shannonside neighbours and arch rivals Limerick on Sunday (throw in at 15:45 at Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds).
According to the wing back on Clare’s All-Ireland winning team back in 2013 “it’s important to get game time into lads. They are working really hard in training but nothing replicates match situations like today”.
Asked about the overall injury situation in the camp given that quite a number of players have missed league action to date because of injury he said, “that’s the hand we have been dealt. Other teams have had a lot of injuries before. We just have to get on with it, others have got on with it and we will have to do the same”.
