Ryan named new Oscar Traynor manager

COLM Ryan is the new manager of the Clare Oscar Traynor team and he will be assisted by John O’Malley and Thomas Leahy.
The Cratloe man has previously managed a number of club sides, including Rineanna Rovers and Shannon Olympic, while he has played with Bunratty, Cratloe and Shannon Olympic. He is currently a playing member with Inch Crusaders, whom he joined last season.
Speaking this week, he said he is delighted with the response from the players and the clubs. “I have asked 25 players from eight different clubs to join the panel and all have shown a positive attitude. We had a friendly last week and 20 were present, while the other five weren’t available. It’s very heartening to have got such a response,” he told The Clare Champion.
“Our initial target is to get out of the group and into the play-off stage but it’s going to be difficult. We are in the same group as last year with Limerick and Galway and it won’t be easy as they are both strong. We lost to both last year.”
Clare’s opening game will be against Limerick and it must be played before the end of September, with Limerick having home advantage. The Galway game is due to be played in October in Clare.
“The clubs are very supportive to date and all managers have been very helpful and willing to let players go for training. Denis Hynes is coaching the squad over the coming weeks and this is a massive addition. We are training one night a week and another game is planned before we play Limerick. The competition is very early this year and we haven’t much time to prepare,” the new manager said before confirming, “David Russell will be the captain again this year.”
Preparations began this week with a friendly against a Hermitage selection at the County Grounds, which finished in a 1-1 draw.
Eoin O’Meara Daly opened the scoring for Hermitage in the first half with an excellent free kick. Clare piled on the pressure in the second half and got a deserved equaliser from Gary Collins.
It was a good workout for Clare and preparations will continue over the next few weeks, before a panel will be finalised for the Limerick match towards the end of September.
The Clare panel for last week’s game comprised of John Healy, Simon Cuddy, David Russell, Darren Murphy, Ian Hogan, Paul Butler, Jason Regan, Patrick Darcy, Ryan Boyle, Mikey Mahoney, Colin Ryan, Mattie Nugent, Gary Collins, Dean Gardiner, Lunga Balman, Adrian White and Ray Quigley.
Hermitage: Joe Burke, Neil Mills, John Maher, David Moloney, Rhys Phillips, Eoghan Ryan, Eoin O’Meara Daly, Richie Fitzgerald, Adrian McDonagh, Paul Dinan, Liam Meaney, Robert Dunn, Colin Ryan and Paul Dullaghan.