Burns going in with his eyes wide open

By Michael McMullan

THERE is a positive vibe in St Comgall’s camp ahead of Saturday’s showdown with St Agnes’ but manager Barry Burns’ eyes are wide open.

His side have won all their league and championship games but feels this is going to be a battle against a different St Agnes’ team. Burns is full of praise for their manager Martin Shortt.

“They’ve really turned their season around,” he said. “They’ve went all of championship unbeaten as well and probably played some good football, beating last year’s runners up (O’Donnell’s)

“So, they’re no mugs and they know what they’re doing and Marty knows what he’s doing as well.

“I’ve watched them play in the semi-final, so I know how much he’s turned it around and how they play.

“Hopefully we come out and get the right result in the end but it’s going to be a battle the whole way through. This is not the same team we played in the league, it’s a completely different team.”

It’s a first season at the helm for Burns who placed winning the league as their number one priority. Getting to Division Two brings a higher standard with the long-term goal of having a reserve team to expand the numbers playing.

“There’s been people who haven’t played for the club in the last four or five years, there’s been people coming back into the fold,” Burns added.

“I’m just really trying to build a culture back in the team. The door’s always open for people, some came back from Australia and are playing for us.

“Hopefully I can continue to grow that and get as many people back playing for St Comgall’s and then start to grow into maybe a second team and then really just try to build a club going forward.”