AARON KERNAN admits Rian O’Neill’s Armagh absence is a massive blow.
Boss Kieran McGeeney has confirmed the Crossmaglen hitman is unlikely to feature in their All-Ireland defence.
Diarmuid Connolly, Aaron Kernan, pictured, and Eoin Cadogan are Gaelic Games ambassadors for BoyleSports. Get paid out early with BoyleSports if your team goes 7 points ahead, even if they draw or lose[/caption]
O’Neill was on fire when the Orchard won their second-ever Sam Maguire last summer and bagged his first All-Star.
And former Orchard star Kernan said: “Rian O’Neill is just a unique player. He’s the type of person that would put bums on seats.
“So on a personal level, you’d be very disappointed that he’s not getting out to showcase his talents.
“He’ll be an unbelievable miss to Armagh. There’s stages in the big games where he would step up, whether that was a catch, a free, a score from play . . .
“But as the old saying goes, one man’s loss is another man’s gain.
“He’ll be back. He will be back in Armagh colours. He’ll be back in Cross colours.
“Unfortunately, it just doesn’t look like it’s going to be this year.
“But someone else needs to step up to the plate to try and fill that void, as big as it may be.
“You can’t worry about the what-ifs. You can’t go down a rabbit hole of, ‘If we had this man’ — Armagh will have 15 players out on the field.
“It’s up to them to give the best account of themselves and someone else to force their way in.”
Armagh can secure their Division 1 status if they beat Derry on Sunday and they are due to face Antrim in an Ulster SFC quarter-final on April 12.
The Saffrons are currently in the middle of a tense stand-off with Ulster Council chiefs over the fixture and insist they will only play the game at Corrigan Park.
But provincial bosses have fixed the game for Newry and claim the west Belfast ground is not a viable location.
Corrigan Park holds just under 4,000 punters and Armagh have 3,000 season ticket holders alone.
But Kernan is backing Antrim’s stance.
The BoyleSports GAA ambassador said: “I would be of the opinion that I would back the Antrim players and their county board, their management team and their stance.
“I think they were drawn out first. To be fair to them, they’re entitled to home advantage.
“I would think over the next week or so that will be ironed out. I think the switch will be made.
“It will be a logistical nightmare for county board officials in terms of how the 3,000 season ticket holders get accounted for.
“But I think ultimately it will be played in Corrigan Park. I don’t think the Armagh players, the management team or anyone will have any issues with that whatsoever.”
