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19th May 2016
10:28am BST

James also revealed his brother's return was necessary after a good number of players - including Eoin McNicholl, Barry McGoldrick, and Benny Heron - decided they had better things to do with their summers.
“We’ve still always had 25 or 30 training most nights so if we wanted to play an in-house match, we could,” Kielt told the Irish Examiner. “It wasn’t ideal because you were training with lads all the way through November and December and you feel as if you’re getting team spirit built up and then some leave. That sort of thing always happens in Derry. When the club season starts, boys leave. “You don’t blame them but it’s not ideal in a county setup to have boys stepping away, but so be it. We’re still confident heading into the game and preparation has gone well.”What is happening in Derry is seen all over the country and not just at supposed "cannon-fodder" counties. Galway football manager Kevin Walsh can count FIFTY-TWO players who have declined to join his panel, have joined and then left or turned down the opportunity of a trial. There are bigger issues surrounding the ratio of games to training and Championship structures but surely, keeping your squad to a size where members can at least dream of a game would help. Don't worry about getting numbers of 15-a-side matches at training. Sure aren't there plenty of clubs out there dying for games.

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