By Shaun Casey

ST Gall’s currently sit at midtable following their opening ten games and hope to finish in the top half before the split in the league.

They have two games left to achieve that target, against Lamh Dhearg and Creggan, in the coming weeks.

The former Antrim kingpins have been competitive and boss Paddy McShane is satisfied with their performances to date.

“Bar Portglenone, we’ve been competitive. Portglenone were too powerful for us on the day, but we learned a lot. The rest of them are all two or three points here and there.

“Tír na nÓg was a point and a couple of points against Aghagallon, county finalists last year. I’m pleased we’ve been competitive.

“Would I have liked a few more points? Of course, I would. I would love to be in that top half, not looking over our shoulder but it is what it is.”

St Gall’s drew the last day with Cargin, the same side that hammered McShane’s men in the 2021 championship quarter-final.

“We played rightly, we’re happy with the performance. We’re a young team and we’re just glad to be competitive. We didn’t get over the line completely, but the boys did try hard and did well.

“It’s not really the same team (as last year’s championship). We’re rebuilding, a lot of boys who owe the club nothing have stepped away, we’re trying to go with the younger lads that have come through the youth development of the club.”

McShane, along with the management team of Sean Burns, Gary McGirr, Simon Kennedy and Paul Walsh, are leading the rebuild after several older members of the sqaud, and club legends, stepped away.

“There’s about six or seven that have stepped away. Aodhan Gallagher, Terry O’Neill, Sean Kelly, Kevin Niblock, Colin Brady. There’s a lad from Down, maybe not a part of the successful teams, Shane O’Hagan, he would have been one of our experienced boys.

“It’s a lot of experience to lose but we just have to keep going and try to develop people and step into their shoes, it’ll be very hard to fill.

“They’ve given our club and me some serious days out. You could probably add CJ McGourty moved down to Ardboe and Chris Kerr gone to Ballymacnab.”

But the likes of the experienced Michael Pollock, and a few other older statesmen, have stayed on to help bring the youngsters through.

“We needed one or two to stay on and in fairness I have to give Michael Pollock a lot of credit. He’s stuck in there and he scored the game-winner against Rossa, and he scored a cracker against Cargin. We have one or two of the older ones that have stayed on. You need three or four and you build a crowd of cubs around them and see where they go and how they do and who knows.

“Sean Burns has taken a minor team sincethey were babies right up and got to a county final. He and I served together last year as reserve managers trying to blood these lads.”