Antrim face 'massive' Offaly test in relegation shootout
Antrim performance coach Neil McManus says the county face a "massive challenge" against Offaly in this weekend's Leinster Senior Hurling Championship relegation shootout.
Davy Fitzgerald's Saffrons travel to Tullamore on Sunday (14:00 BST throw-in) knowing that defeat will condemn them to the second-tier Joe McDonagh Cup for the 2026 season.
Both sides have lost all four games in this year's Leinster series. Antrim are coming off a bruising 28-point loss to Galway in Salthill last week and lost their Division One B trip to Tullamore 2-26 to 0-17.
"How ready can you ever be?," McManus said when asked if Antrim are adequately prepared to take on the Faithful County on Sunday.
"The Leinster Championship is incredibly competitive, some of the best teams in Ireland involved there and some of them going really well."
Having earned promotion to the top tier by winning the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2022, Antrim retained their Leinster status in 2023 and 2024 with last-round victories over Westmeath and Carlow.
In order to remain at the top table, they must shake off defeats by Wexford, Kilkenny, Dublin and Galway and conjure another last-ditch performance.
"We've been in this situation before. We tend to be in this situation annually," added McManus, who joined Fitzgerald's backroom team ahead of the 2025 season after retiring from inter-county hurling in 2023.
"We're fighting for survival in the Liam MacCarthy. It's a massive challenge on Sunday.
"Offaly have developed hugely over the past four, five seasons. Their county has improved massively over the past decade and everyone has enjoyed that but we'll be fully focused on ourselves on Sunday and retaining our Leinster Championship status.
"We love the fact that there's an Ulster county represented in Ireland's top flight and we want to ensure that not only Antrim Gaels but Ulster Gaels can come here to Corrigan Park and see our lads at the very, very top level."
Antrim have been plagued by injury issues this year and had defender Declan McCloskey sent off against Galway last week, with James McNaughton
Fitzgerald has been without forwards Keelan Molloy, Conor Johnston, Seaan Elliott and Conal Cunning in recent weeks, but McManus says the backroom team hope to "nurse at least one of them back to health" for Sunday's game.
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