Clare overcame Waterford on Sunday by a score of 2-19 to 3-13, but despite the win, joint-manager Donal Moloney was not too thrilled after the game.
Clare's Brendan Bugler was shown his second yellow with just two points in the game, but that wasn't what Moloney was annoyed about in the wake of the game.
Turning his attention to one of the biggest talking points in the sport at the moment, Moloney warned that his players were feeling the effects of a number of fixtures piling up, and that they were ready to take action.
With a game against Cork scheduled on Wednesday in the Munster SHL, Moloney stated that giving the players enough time to recover would be key, and there was a chance they would give the Rebels a walkover instead.
"We have stated from the start that we can’t play on Wednesday night because we have a whole lot of Fitzgibbon [Cup] players," Moloney told the Irish Times, "and we cannot ask these players to play three senior games in one week, then play a Fitzgibbon and then play a fourth senior game against Cork."
Image: Donal Moloney and Gerry O'Connor ©INPHO/Ken Sutton
With a number of Fitzgibbon Cup fixtures taking place on Tuesday, some players would be facing the prospect of having to tog out again in Sixmilebridge against Cork, despite having played a full slog on Sunday.
"We’re not doing it, maybe we’ll be forced into it but that’s where we’re immediately at right now," Moloney added. "We cannot ask some players to play five games in 10 days. The Fitzgibbon is on Tuesday and we have 13 Fitzgibbon players, and if the fixture isn’t changed, we’ll have to fight it. We’re not going to torture our players.”
Gerry O'Connor echoed the sentiments of his managerial colleague, adding: "As Donal said, if 13 of those lads are hurling a full-blooded, championship Fitzgibbon [game] on Tuesday, it’ll be very difficult for us to put out a meaningful team on Wednesday night."
Via Irish Times
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