Antrim manager Liam Bradley has blasted the GAA's fixture-makers after it emerged that the beaten Ulster and Connacht SFC finalists will face an All-Ireland qualifier tie just one week later. This is nothing new, of course, but it was widely assumed that the GAA had introduced measures to ensure that teams beaten in their provincial championship would have at least a two-week turnaround before they played in the All-Ireland qualifiers. "I haven't been looking past the next game, which is now the Ulster final, so I hadn't even thought about the qualifiers. This is the first I've heard of what happens the losers and it's a disgrace," said Bradley, who has guided the Saffrons to their first Anglo-Celt Cup decider in 39 years. "This just isn't right. Make no mistake about it, we're going into the Ulster final with the clear intention of winning, but whether it's ourselves or Tyrone who have to head for the qualifiers, we should get longer than a week to prepare. "The same goes for Connacht. The people who made this decision aren't the people who are working with the players night and day throughout the year. And they're certainly not the players. It seems to be a disadvantage to get to a provincial final if you lose it - how can that be right?" Tweet

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