Conor Glass on the Glen boys he would “love to have playing for Derry”

“I would love to have all of the Glen boys up.”

Derry captain and Watty Graham’s Glen clubman Conor Glass has made no secret of the fact that he would love to see more of his teammates in the Derry panel. 

Glen are preparing to play St Brigid’s in the All-Ireland club final this Sunday, and when you watch the team in the full flow, you can’t help but wonder why more of these boys aren’t in the county squad.

A lot of the reasoning behind it is down to personal choice, because ability certainly isn’t the issue in this case, and no doubt Mickey Harte would have been on the phone to a few of them already trying to bend their ear.

Really enjoyed my chat with Derry captain @Conor_Glass ahead of Glen's All-Ireland final this Sunday.

– Returning from Australia to win things
– Playing without a pre-season for two years
– Getting Glen boys to play for Derry

Tune in 🎧 https://t.co/JeZwpNkhbT 🎧 pic.twitter.com/GfTXxEgKcn

— Lee Costello (@sitelee) January 17, 2024

Speaking on the latest episode of the GAA Hour podcast thanks to AIB #TheToughest, Glass was asked if he ever has a word with a few of the lads in the changing room, to try and persuade them to join up with the county side.

“Absolutely. I had listened to the podcast you did after the Crokes’ game about Danny Tallon, like I grew up with Danny, he already played for Derry, and I’m sure they will be asked up, but it’s a commitment to play for Derry and you don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives – ones be travelling, have work and those things, it needs to sit them that way too.

“Like Michael Warnock, Dougie (Ryan Dougan), or Conor Carville, I could probably name the whole team to be honest, but it has to suit them off the field as well, because it is such a commitment.

“Like Spike (Warnock) is at an age now where he has just got married, wants to go on a honeymoon, he just built a house, and that sort of thing, so there are different factors that come into play.”

The footballing powerhouse  plays alongside a lot of Slaughtneil stars in the Derry setup, and has striked up a brilliant partnership in midfield with Brendan Rogersin particular, but your club will always be your club, and you want to be able to say that it’s your community that has the biggest representation at the top level.

“I would love to have all of the Glen boys up, even just in terms of having one over the Slaughtneil boys in terms of outnumbering them, but that’s just me being selfish.

“When I first came back from Australia I think we had seven. Alex Doherty was up at that stage, Danny (Tallon) was also there, Conlan Bradley was there for a stage, Emmett Bradley was there – so there was a stage when we had seven or eight players from Glen and hopefully that’s the case again this year.

“We want the best players in Derry playing for Derry, and we definitely have a handful of them at Glen, and it will only make the county better.”

Related links:

• Brendan Rogers explains the main trait Conor Glass brought back from AFL
• Robbie Brennan gives sporting interview after Kilmacud Crokes’ defeat to Glen
• The three players Mickey Harte should immediately call up for Derry

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