McCorry defends Armagh’s Portugal training camp

Jim McCorry, right, with Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney

ARMAGH assistant manager Jim McCorry has given a strong counter argument to claims that they disrespected April’s club only policy by travelling to Portugal for a training camp last week.

It is understood that the GAA are set to investigate the Orchard county, and a number of other counties, for the breach of a rule which precludes full-time training camps unless they take place in the 10-day period before a county’s first championship game.

The penalty is loss of home venue for one game in the following year’s National Football League.

It is understood that one of the difficulties facing Croke Park is that counties may have signed off on their camps before rule 6.22 was amended.

Regardless of the outcome, McCorry said that Kieran McGeeney’s squad had very much been club players in April.

“There were other teams away at the same time as us and other teams set to go, of course,” said McCorry.

“Armagh went through the process in April of releasing all their players for all the club games.

“The fourth game, which was scheduled for last Sunday, could have been played on the Monday with county players available, if clubs wanted to.

“My understanding was that clubs preferred to play those games later in the year when their county players would be fresher.

“The Ulster secretary (Brian McAvoy) said recently that Armagh had been very good at complying with the various directives and releasing players.