O'Rourke hope's for the future after Donegal and Tyrone defeats - 22/07/03

O'Rourke, now turns his eye to the upcoming club championship as he hopes for the future. After a championship campaign that lasted longer than he expected O'Rourke has stated that "We played four games in Clones. We'd have settled for that beforehand,". "We're in a healthy position and we'll be a lot better next year. It's the end of July and we're just out of the championship." He'll cast his net across the Mournes over the next few months to see what the club championship throws up. "We brought in a few more new guys today and they did well. I have my eye on two or three more that weren't with us today. I think if we could get those we'd be a force to be reckoned with. "When you look at a player like John Gildea, 31 years of age, and what he did out there today you realise that sometimes players don't mature until they are in their late 20s. We have a lot of 19 and 20 year olds, so we can't expect too much of them."

The oldest and most venerable Down man of them all, Mickey Linden, remained on the bench throughout and after reaching the 40 mark on Friday, it's reasonable to suggest he won't be playing for his county again. With Down so far adrift, O'Rourke didn't see any point in introducing him. "If the game was closer he might have come on, but not when we were six or seven points behind."

Down will have regrets for some time over letting a nine-point lead slip in the Ulster final, but O'Rourke is realistic enough to know that Down were simply outclassed by a better team. "Tyrone are better than Down right now. In fact, I feel they are the best team in Ireland," he revealed.

Armagh and a few more counties will have something to say about that before the season ends.

Site was Created and Designed by Diarmuid Cahill
© DOWNGAA.NET