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The Irish Sun

Offaly GAA boss Johnny Kelly insists controversial split season ‘not working' and reveals why it's ‘time to review it'

JOHNNY KELLY reckons the split-season experiment has not worked out. His Offaly side beat Antrim to retain their Leinster SHC status last Sunday but their season is over, with their next game eight months away. Advertisement 2 Offaly manager Johnny Kelly before the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 5 match against Antrim Credit: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile 2 Oisin Kelly of Offaly in action against Eoghan Campbell of Antrim Credit: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile Kelly led his native Portumna to All-Ireland club glory in 2009 and reckons this calendar is a failure. He said: 'I was an advocate of the split-season. But it's not working. I was down in Portumna, watching the boys train, and they're gone since last January without any club games, league games. 'We've one set of players playing five games in six weeks. We've another set, club players, ambling around since January, waiting for the thing to finish. 'Clare are out of the Championship. Leinster is finished for three teams. I don't think it's right, maybe it's time to review it. Advertisement Read More on GAA 'That's it now. What do we do tomorrow? 'If you were a professional set-up, you'd be saying, 'OK, take your break, we'll go back into it and look at some of your strength and conditioning, the physical work, look at the injuries'. That's not really possible. It's an amateur game. But that's the way it's gone at inter-county level. It's so professional.'