With only one more game left before the start of the National Football League against Down, time is ticking away for James Horan before he has to pick his squad for the competition. After sending 15 different players into battle against Roscommon from the one that he selected for the season opener against GMIT a pleased Horan knows that he is going to have some tight calls to make. “At the end of January we've to pick a panel and there will be some guys who are borderline and some close calls and we'll be playing them so that will dictate how we go.” He went on to praise the commitment from the squad he has assembled at present and say that desire and commitment will be key parts of his selection process. “People are keen, there are going to be a lot of players who are of similar ability or a similar level and what it will come down to at the end of the day is attitude and desire and how much they want it”
On the game itself the man who led Ballintubber to their first ever senior county title last Autumn was pleased with the performance of his side especially in the second half. “Roscomnon started very well and they had us pinned back and we couldn't get to grips with their runners. I suppose the main reason for that was that we were getting dominated at midfield and we were getting hammered at the breaking ball. I don't think we got a breaking ball in maybe the first 15 or 20 minutes.
We actually got a good return in the first half for the amount of possession we had. We got in at half time and we just talked about what we were doing, and what we needed to do with a view to move on.”
Improvement in each game is something Horan is looking to see from his side in each game and he saw it on Sunday afternoon in Ballyhaunis. “Look today was all about improvement. If you take from the beginning of the game to the end of the game, there was a significant development in our game. But it's just another step as we get ready for the national league.”
