Antrim forward Neil McManus doesn't think there'll be much appetite for a combined Ulster hurling team from the players in the Saffron County.
This week Slaughtneil dual star and Derry inter-county footballer Chrissy McKaigue had suggested to video journalist Jerome Quinn that an Ulster side was "worth a gamble" as "things can’t really get any worse".
While Loughgiel's Eddie McCloskey expressed his belief that a team drawn from counties across the northern province would have an improve chance of being successful:
"They’d have a much bigger pool to pick from but you have your strong players in Down, in Derry and others and they have the potential to be competitive at that level.’’
But with Antrim having qualified for this season's Division Two Hurling League Final, McManus doesn't think many others in the county would be looking to join up with other counties:
“I love playing for Antrim," he told The Irish News. "I absolutely love representing Antrim and Cushendall because they're part of me.
“You're born and bred in your village, your club is everything to you. From a very young age my father was taking me to Casement Park to watch Antrim and that became an aspiration. It's not going to be entertained in Antrim, let's be honest.”
McManus, who has represented Ulster in the inter-provincial series, is also concerned that an Ulster team could damage the development of hurling in the counties involved:
"Does hurling stop for those counties then? Some of those counties are operating with very small panels.
“It could demotivate so many people and it could almost be a wee bit selfish.
“I really think you'd be doing an awful disservice to every county if Team Ulster had sole access to those players.”
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