WHEN Monaghan’s season does resume after the coronavirus outbreak, they should have a few more options up front. As revealed by Gaelic Life, the explosive Stephen O’Hanlon had rejoined the panel before the delay, and Sigerson Player of the Year David Garland was also recently back. Those are two livewires who can really bring something to Séamus McEnaney’s attack. Suddenly the Oriel county have plenty of options and given that their side of the Ulster draw contains Antrim, Cavan, Down and Fermanagh – they will have their eyes on an Ulster final spot in this unusual season.

NIALL MCCOY

Taking care of players

RAYMOND Gallagher had a Gilmore’s groin issue and a cruciate injury before he was out of u-21 football. That seems like a crazy statistic, but it’s true. And to add insult to injury, the damage he did to himself in the early days probably contributed to his back problems later in life. The issue leads most of us to jump to the conclusion that the fault lies with managers, and they should take care of their players. But how many managers does a young player have? Certainly more than one. So which one should care for them the most? And how much responsibility lies with the player to stand up for himself?

RONAN SCOTT

A changing of opinion

A FEW weeks ago I contacted 100 players to get their opinions on all things coronavirus. What was clear was that there was a split on how they felt about the prospect of returning to play this year. There seems to be a mood change over the last couple of weeks though. The situation has improved rapidly and, please God, it will keep happening. I think now most players will be happy to line out for their clubs and counties. There will, of course, be exceptions, but the want to play has grown, it seems.

NIALL MCCOY

No promotion for Ulster teams?

COULD it be that Ulster teams are going to be done out of their promotion spots with the way the make-shift season is going to be organised? That is a hard pill to swallow if indeed it happens. Five Ulster teams are in the race for the six promotion spots. When the vast majority of teams put inter-county form ahead of championship action, particularly when league standings now define the championship tier, then how much solace are they going to take from being afforded an opportunity to play in a competition that they are unlikely to win at all? A good manager will hopefully use this disappointment to drive them on to better next year.

RONAN SCOTT