Kenny Cunningham has shared his doubts regarding Shane Keegan's claims that professional English clubs are doing a disservice to their young footballers in terms of strength and conditioning.
Speaking on Off the Ball's Sunday Paper Review yesterday afternoon, Keegan offered an intriguing assessment of his experience with young players returning from England into domestic Irish football.
"[They're] definitely not fitter or stronger," Keegan stated.
"It is remarkable for a multi-million pound industry how things are just left so loose and on the fly.
"Certainly in the case of players I've spoken to, the gym culture is a kind of, 'here are some exercises we want you to do, and off you go and do it in your own time.'
"Even the collective core and strength work they do is little to none. An inter-county minor Gaelic football team would be doing far, far more strength and conditioning work than a Premier League academy."
However, met with these claims on OTB AM on Monday morning, the former Irish international Cunningham was troubled by Keegan's claims.
"I take Shane's point, he's obviously had personal experience with players coming back," Cunningham conceded, "but I'd be absolutely amazed."
"I couldn't see a situation at an academy system or U-23s ... where they would be left to their own devices in terms of their strength and conditioning.
"That is hugely structured at a football club. It's absolutely huge at all football clubs."
After almost two-decades as a professional player in England, Cunningham additionally explored the personal responsibility young prospects had to demonstrate if they expected to succeed at that level.
"Maybe Shane didn't allude to it, but I think there is a bit of personal responsibility," Cunningham relayed.
"At clubs there will be some collective work done, but you'll all have your own individual programs.
"So you won't be taken by your hand into the gym by one of the conditioning coaches. [The program] will be tailored to you; here it is for the next six weeks, go and do it.
"If you don't do that and your attitude isn't right and you're cutting corners, you might find yourself in a situation where you're being shown the door at the football club.
"It might sound a little bit harsh, but there's a lot of personal responsibility on behalf of the players."
Arriving at a general consensus that if these responsibilities can't be carried out, one simply won't make it as a professional player at the top level, Cunningham surmised: "This is a professional game like, you've got to pick up the mantle and go yourself. I understand what [Shane] is saying, but personally I feel he's letting some players off the hook."
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