Aidan Forker Armagh v Donegal preview

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Armagh captain Aidan Forker spoke to the Newry Reporter ahead of this weekend's Allianz Football League Division 2 final.

Transcript

00:00 So Aidan, probably fair to say that job one of the season was to get promoted from Division

00:04 2. You've done that and how do you sort of reflect on the campaign?

00:07 Yeah, I think we're going to look positively on it. Definitely that was the goal to get

00:12 back up to Division 1. We were probably unlucky to go down last year you would argue, but

00:19 this and Division 2 is not an easy division. We were under no illusions. We had to be at

00:24 our best and perform every time we went out. So thankfully we did that. Probably a slowish

00:29 start against Louth, but I'd argue that they were fairly strong and one of the better teams

00:35 that we've come to face this year, very physical. So that wasn't easy. But yeah, no, glad to

00:41 be back up in Division 1 and take the learnings from this year I suppose and bring that in

00:47 next year and take the learnings from last year and hopefully be a wee bit better in

00:52 Division 1 since last year.

00:54 Yeah, probably a lot's been made of the strength and depth of Armagh this year. I suppose you've

00:58 maybe three or four long-term injuries, but otherwise it's been probably as available

01:02 as you've had in a few years. Have you found that maybe the players coming in off the bench,

01:06 the quality that you're getting from first minute to last, there is real strength and

01:10 depth there. There's always good competition for places.

01:12 Yeah, there's massive competition for places. Trading is very enhanced and competitive.

01:19 Everybody wants one of those starting berths and that's a good thing. I suppose that's

01:24 healthy in a group. So yeah, listen, it's great to see anybody coming on who is experienced

01:32 and physically ready and has great appetite to come in and have an impact. So yeah, it's

01:39 brilliant. We're a really strong group, a really close group. Things are going good

01:45 and we're hoping to have a good weekend here and get a bounce going in the Ulster some.

01:54 I suppose there's several players who have made a mark, but certainly two young players

01:58 who were probably not household names, I feel like, Asheen Connaty and Peter McVean have

02:01 come in. I think they've started and played every league game so far and made a huge impact.

02:05 How good is it to have young players pushing through and keeping the boys on their toes

02:09 if nothing else?

02:10 No doubt. Them, the boys, have been an absolute credit to themselves in terms of how they

02:15 have played themselves and physically just to get to the level that's required. The boys

02:20 are really, really fit, strong and powerful and odd a lot to us going forward on defence.

02:28 They're just two honest boys that really want to play for their county. It's a great lesson

02:36 for anyone who is aspiring to push into the group. They've been really patient, really

02:43 hard working and they've got their chance in this season. I've never looked back so

02:48 it will only get better.

02:51 And then of course this weekend, Tony Gould's team, he's played already earlier in the year,

02:54 you drew with them but it's probably not a lot between the two teams but a chance for

02:58 some silverware going into the Ulster Championship.

03:00 Yeah, I think a national title would be nice but again we're just trying to put performance

03:07 together I suppose. It's a great opportunity at this stage of the year to get to put the

03:11 park and put ourselves against one of the top teams, top team division two for sure

03:16 and hopefully maybe get a win would be nice as well. So, no, big week of preparation and

03:24 we're looking forward to a good weekend.

03:28 Yeah and I suppose around GA in general there's a lot of talk about the quick turnaround games

03:32 coming every week, every two weeks. How do you find that as a player? Is it something

03:36 that you enjoy or how do you sort of...

03:38 It's fine, it's fine when the going's good I suppose. Recovery in between keeps you on

03:44 your toes but I suppose if you get a muscle injury of any sort you're going to be on the

03:48 back foot, you're going to struggle. So, listen, there's pros and cons of both. I enjoy it

03:53 because obviously the kick-down season is definitely a welcome thing for players but

04:00 it makes it exciting in terms of I think every team's maybe one or two injuries away from

04:06 being competitive or not competitive I suppose so it makes it exciting in that way. So, big

04:10 onus on individuals to do their recovery and look after themselves from a rehabilitation

04:16 point of view. No, it's good, it was needed. It was probably a week or two that you could

04:23 look at that you could maybe extend it out or whatever but we're not complaining about

04:27 having more games.

04:29 Yeah and Donnie Gould, just to touch on them again, you threw with them obviously in the

04:33 Athletic Rounds and probably the toughest game you had, be fair to say, just on results

04:37 wise. Is there any learnings you can take out of that game, anything you look at this

04:40 week you might want to change or what way do you sort of view it?

04:43 Yeah, listen, you obviously play a team and you find out a wee bit about them but we look

04:47 at that this week and management are very good at being quite diligent and detailed

04:52 with how we're going about maybe trying to break them down or what to expect from them

04:57 so we'll do our detail this week and we'll do our best to execute them I suppose and

05:03 bring that off tight and hard work towards it so as I say I'm looking forward to it.

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