Published: Wednesday, 31st December, 2008 12:05pm

Door remains open for return of Forde

IN the build-up to his first competitive match as Cavan senior football manager, Tom Carr has admitted that the door is still open for veteran Anthony Forde should he wish to make a return to the squad.

Having been one of the most consistent footballers in the county over the past decade, Cavan Gaels defender Forde opted out of the county panel recently. While admitting that Forde will be 'a loss', Carr hinted that the 32-year-old may still play a part in his plans for the 2009 season.

'Anthony has been a massive servant to Cavan football, I remember him playing over the last ten or 12 years and he was very good last year as well,' an upbeat Carr told The Anglo Celt.

'But with every guy, there comes a situation or a point in time where you know that you can"t go on or you"ve had enough, that time is not on your side. Yes, he will be a loss but I suppose more and more the turnover of players in the GAA is getting higher and higher and the ages are lower and lower. In my time you could play for ten or 12 years - there are not many around who are doing that now.

'It really depends on your lifestyle and your situation at work etc. The commitment is huge and the level of fitness required is big, and that takes time,' he said.

'He could turn around and look at it in three months time and may change his mind and we [the county senior team] are still going to be there. We"ll take that on board if that"s what he wants to do and come and talk to us, that"s not a problem. We would like to have everybody who it was possible to have available to the panel but that"s it, we have what we have and we"ve got to work away with what we have.'

Carr"s first panel contained a number of promising newcomers along with the return of veterans Dermot McCabe and Jason O"Reilly.

'Of course it is a boost,' said the manager. 'They have tremendous experience and have the capability and potential to bring a lot to the panel, which is exactly what"s required. It"s a big decision for them and it will only be known whether it is worthwhile next June, July or August. We"ve a fair blend of youth in there and that"s on purpose as well and they will obviously need a bit of on-field guidance.

'But I mean the Dermot McCabes and these lads aren"t going to be around forever and the sooner the younger guys can stand on their own two feet the better.'

Carr"s first senior panel is notably sprinkled with tall, physical-style players, many of whom are new to senior inter-county football, such as promising attackers David Givney (Mountnugent) and Ronan Reilly (Kildallan) as well as defenders Dane O"Dowd (Drumlane) and Enda McCormack (Drumalee). The Tipperary native admits that the move towards bigger players was a conscious decision.

'It was a conscious thing and I think that every team needs some big, strong fellas and there are some big, strong fellas in there and they are the guys we have to work with,' he said.

'That"s not to say we are turning our backs on smaller players or handier players but certainly, yes, there is an emphasis to pick up some big guys along the way. They have to be good enough to play football as well, they make take a bit more work but we"re prepared to do that.'

With the GAA having banned collective training for inter-county teams in November and December, Carr admits that January will be a hectic month as he gets a squad ready.

'I think it"s going to be a rush to try out as many players as possible. For us, the month of January will largely be a trying out process. I think there are 43 or 44 players on the panel at the moment and obviously we"re going to have to whittle that back to 30 by the end of January.

'We"ll have a game against Wexford at the end of January and we will be trying to play as full strength a team as possible before we kick off the league on February 1.

'It will almost be the final trial to a large degree and we will be able to see where injured players are at.'

Cavan face Queens next Saturday in Kingspan Breffni Park.