Mike Quirke dropped into Off The Ball as he recapped on what has been a truly bizarre first season as an inter-county manager.
Quirke is obviously keen to get Gaelic Games back but only when safe to do so and has been impressed by the actions of the GAA during the coronavirus pandemic thus far.
WATCH | @CLGLaois football manager @Mike_Quirke joins @MolloyJoe to give his perspective on the forecast ahead for Gaelic Games 🏐📺https://t.co/zx6vRG2jOk
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) May 11, 2020
"Nobody wants any GAA club to become a cluster," says the former Kerry forward, "I think they have been prudent in the whole thing."
The financial reality of no Championship is stark for the GAA, and the organisation operating with the knowledge of a potential €50 million loss has impressed Quirke.
"You would think they would be trying at all costs to put on a championship. They don't seem to be willing to take a chance with people's health and they have to be commended for doing that.
"The rest of us, we just need to find our lane and find other stuff to do for now and then we'll see where we are.
"People are getting a bit carried away with the need for certainty or the need to call it off.
"It benefits nobody if John Horan comes out now and says 'the championship is gone,' what are we gaining from doing that?"
Meaningful conversation
Quirke wants a patient approach: "Just see where we are, just see where the numbers are and perhaps this thing in three or four months' time.
"If the numbers are so insignificant, we can have a meaningful conversation about if players want to have games.
The Laois boss knows he no virologist, he will instead trust the experts.
"I'm certainly not an expert in this sort of stuff," says Mike Quirke, "but I'm trusting in Tony Holohan and these guys that have our best interests at heart. Croke Park and its committees are obviously getting their information from the same kind of bodies.
"I just think, footballers and hurlers and managers of sports teams, they are good at what they do, but we need to trust in the people with the real expertise in this area.
"If those people tell us 'yeah you can go back training or playing games or no ye can't for now,' then it silly not to take that stuff in the way it's intended."
