Former Monaghan star Paul Finlay laments championship 'imbalance'

Former Monaghan footballer Paul Finlay feels his county are at a disadvantage compared to other sides in Ireland, when it comes to their route to the All-Ireland series.

The GAA chose to persist with the provincial championships in 2020, with calls for an 'open draw' falling on deaf ears. This means that if the Farney County are to win an Ulster title, they will have had to play four games in the space of 21 days.

Comparing that to Kerry who would need just two victories to win an eighth consecutive Munster title - with a fortnight's rest in between the matches - Finlay feels that the current system is out-dated.

"It's the old adage that we've always been faced with in Ulster where it's so competitive to try and make your way through the province. It's the lie of the land," he said.

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"I'm all for change and still am all for change in the inter-county scene, that that whole imbalance is put right because it just simply isn't right that Kerry can tailor their season and really tailor their training towards when they need to peak whereas up in Ulster you're looking at the possibility in normal circumstances going in May and work your way right through to September.

"Whereas the Kerrys and in Connacht, etc, Dublin, it's just totally different and it's imbalanced. I'm all for trying to find a solution to that and it will be interesting to see how this season goes but you're not really getting anything different with what's on the cards for this autumn/winter."

Therefore, Séamus McEnaney's charges will have a hectic schedule through the winter, should they embark on a winning run.

"It's not good, it's not good. It's not good but I don't know if it's impossible," Finlay said of Monaghan's task to win an Ulster title. "It's all about getting on a run. It's ultra-difficult I would say for any team in Ulster because there's so many teams that can take you out on any given day.

"I don't think everyone has a chance of winning it but there's definitely teams that, on their day, can take down a higher-ranked team as such so you wouldn't want to be going into the Ulster Championship or any championship with a defeatist attitude, that it's not possible to win it.

"It is more difficult, there's no doubt about it, to win an Ulster Championship because it's so competitive."

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