Were chomping at the bit hyland

Cavan manager Terry Hyland sounded a positive note when he spoke to The Anglo-Celt on Tuesday.

The Lacken man insisted that the mood in the Cavan camp is good and the players are eager to get back out on the field again.

“The message is positive, the lads are anxious to get out there, they feel they have a lot more to offer. They’re very disappointed to have lost that game to Monaghan and they want to get back on the horse again,” Hyland said.

The good news is that there are no major injury worries to report, with Killian Clarke a notable returnee.

“Killian Clarke is fit. We haven’t had him since the middle of the National League – he might be a wee bit of rusty football-wise but he played a couple of challenge matches in the last couple of weeks and played with his club so he should be fit to play some part.

“Everybody else is fit and looking forward to it, we have no problem with motivation and we think that we should have a long summer in front of us if all goes well.”

Going into any match as heavy favourites can be tricky, Hyland agreed.
“Maybe with supporters, if you happen to win by 10 points then London are no good, if you happen to win by two, well then Cavan are no good. At the end of the day it’s all about winning and progressing to the next round and that’s what we want to do.”

The challenge match at Butlersbridge in which Cavan beat London comfortably will provide no real clues to this weekend’s riddle, said Hyland.

“Not really. In fairness to London, they travelled over that day, played the game, conditions were very poor weather-wise. They held Roscomommon to 1-2 in the second half of their Connacht game so they’re a different side over there than probably when they travel.

“Kevin [Downes, selector] would know the lads a little bit but everybody has knowledge in all footballers nowadays, and London would have changed a good bit since Kevin was there. It’s how you use the information that counts.”