Moran wants minor footballers to hit the ground running

The Roscommon minor footballers will aim to build on last year’s run to the Connacht final when they open their provincial campaign against Sligo this evening (Friday) at King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park (throw in 5.30 p.m.).

The class of 2025 will be captained by Dara Curran from Castlerea St. Kevin’s while Shay McGuinness (Clann na nGael) and Sam Hannon (Roscommon Gaels) are vice-captains. Curran and McGuinness helped last year’s minors reach the All-Ireland quarter-final where they were outclassed by Kerry in Ennis.

There is a healthy sprinkling of players from the All-Ireland winning Roscommon CBS team. Hannon is one of those while Seamus Hussey, Seamie Carthy, Christopher Feerick, Colm Fitzgerald and Ronan Carr will also be aiming to bring that fine form with their school to the intercounty scene.

Shane Moran will take charge of this year’s group, taking over from James Duignan. Moran will be assisted by Strokestown’s John Rogers, Kilmore’s Colm Garvey and Padraig Kelly of Pádraig Pearses.

Roscommon have received a testing schedule as they line out four weeks in a row, starting this evening (Friday).

Moran, who was part of Duignan’s management ticket in 2024, states that the biggest learning he took from last year is how vital squad depth is during the round robin format.

“There is a very fast turnaround from week to week in terms of what you can do. You might only get one good session between your games. We’ll be playing for four weeks on the trot, so it is important to have depth in your squad.

“We can only tog 24 on any given day but we have a squad of 33. It is very competitive for places, first to get into the squad and then the starting 15. We would be very fortunate to get through the four weeks without picking up knocks.

“The big learning for us from last year was being able to go down to your number 23 or 24 on match day,” he noted.

The Roscommon manager was pleased to see Roscommon CBS and Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, compete in the Connacht B final, with the former, of course, subsequently going on to secure All-Ireland glory. However, Moran warns that, despite the positivity surrounding this year’s team, Sligo’s challenge must be respected.

“In terms of the campaign, this game is very important. Sligo are going to be a very strong side. They are managed by Aidan Rooney, who is a very experienced coach. He has managed and coached at a very high level, so I expect them to be super competitive. That first game is very important. We want to hit the ground running.

“Every game is important. The aim is to get directly to the Connacht final. If not, you have to make second or third (place). That first game is important to give these guys confidence. For a lot of these 15 and 16-year-olds, it will be their first time to wear a Roscommon jersey in the Hyde. So if they can get the win on day one, you would hope they can take that confidence into days two, three and four,” he concluded.