*Clare captain Cillian Rouine. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CLARE will be without newly appointed captain Cillian Rouine for Saturday’s opening round of the Allianz National Football League but the Lahinch man says it is “a massive honour” to be selected as the new skipper and hailed the new management which is comprised of “good Clare people who want the best for Clare football”.
Being appointed Clare senior football captain is “a massive honour, it’s an honour because of the lads I play with. They are such a good group and anyone of them could have been appointed. They are all leaders and we will need many leaders,” Cillian told The Clare Echo following his appointment as team captain for the coming season.
Speaking ahead of the team’s opening game in the Allianz league against Down in Newry on this Saturday evening (6p.m.) he said “the appointment of this management team has given us a new lease of life. The last two or three years hasn’t gone to plan for us. The new management team are all good Clare people who want the best for Clare football. We want to make Clare people proud to support Clare football and the management are of that view also which is a massive bonus”.
A primary school teacher at Knockanean, he continued, “a large amount of players were called in and a power of work has been put in to date. The McGrath Cup helped fellas to get a feel for what is required, it good to get games in early on in the season. We missed it last year, and as a result teams were going a bit raw into the first round of the league, there were good challenges in the McGrath cup. We were happy with some aspects of the performance against. They are the All-Ireland champions but while happy with some aspects there is still a lot of work to be done”.
The Ennistymon clubman readily accepts that Clare face a tough challenge in Newry on Saturday evening. “We played Down in the last round in 2022 and they were at their lowest., they have been on a big building journey since and they are a serious outfit. We will go and give it all we have and see where it gets us”.
“The target is to be in the league final”, he continued “but we will be approaching it game by game. We finished with ten points in each of the last two years and in other divisions that would have got you out. This is an exceptionally strong division. We are chasing performances”.
The captain agrees that “there will be little time to rest. We have seven games in about ten weeks. Here are plenty lads seeking to get their hands on the jersey and its likely they will have opportunities because with the games coming hot and heavy, there will probably be injuries. There are players capable of stepping up. The standard at club level in Clare is strong. Éire Óg are that step ahead at present. The championship last year was entertaining, the new rules have added to the game”.
For now the focus is very much on Saturday’s opening league tie in Newry. “Our aim is to win in Newry but we know it’s a massive task, there is no point in beating around the bush. We will give it our best shot and see where it takes us”, he concluded.
