Trials of 2025 will stand to Leitrim believes Tom Prior

It wasn’t what any of them would have envisaged happening and it certainly wasn’t something to be enjoyed but the travails endured by Leitrim  in 2025 will stand to a young generation of Green & Gold footballers believes Tom Prior.

Speaking after Sunday’s 3-9 to 0-10 Tailteann Cup victory over Tipperary, the Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins clubman gave a candid glimpse of what Leitrim’s footballers had endured during the early part of the year: “I don't think any of us have had a few months of football like it - it just seemed to be blow after blow. 

“But to be fair, we just tried to stick together as a group - I know it's maybe a cliche but that's all you can do in those situations and I think the lads got their reward today. It's been tough coming to Annaduff for training some Wednesday evenings when you've only a handful of lads on the pitch. 

“But, today shows that there is football in Leitrim, that the quality is there and it's just about keeping this group together. And please God we'll have the same group again next year and a few extra boys in with us.”

Getting players back and hanging on to what they have is the big message coming out of the Leitrim camp and Tom is fully on board with that: “As we've said a couple of times before, there was just a mass exodus last year and it just left us in a hole that we've been trying to scrape out of all year and it probably just wasn't possible.

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“So it is just about hopefully bringing a few boys back and getting that bit of experience back. But this year will stand to the young lads, we've got five U20s that have started nearly every single league and championship game for us this year. For them boys to get a year of senior county football under their belt, that's just going to stand them no end next year. Hopefully we will get a bit of experience back as well and look, the future is bright.”

A Sigerson Cup winner with DCU earlier this year and a Higher Education Rising Star Award winner, Tom admitted that the big feeling after the win in TEG Cusack Park was one of disappointment: “It's weird to be disappointed after an eight point win. Look, we have had that performance in us, it's just trying to get it out of the lads for the full 70 minutes. 

“We'd done it for probably 40 minutes against Mayo, we didn't show up at all down in Kildare, played very well for 50 minutes  against Sligo and then the wheels came off. It was just important for us, for that group, to get a 70-minute performance together and it shows what we're capable of.

 “But yeah, we're obviously very disappointed but not getting through didn’t come down to just today, it was probably that last 20 minutes against Sligo. A couple of rash decisions today, just trying to see the game out and look, we are where we are now.”