by Jackie Cahill

Clare forward Eoin Cleary has backed the Banner County's 'Energizer bunny' Podge Collins to cope with the demands of another hectic dual weekend.

Collins will line out with the footballers on Saturday against Roscommon before switching focus to Sunday's hurling showdown with Galway.

Cleary shared a room with Collins as Clare stayed overnight before last Saturday's All-Ireland SFC qualifier victory over Sligo.

And Cleary, 22, revealed that Collins brings much more than just footballing ability to the Clare set-up.

He smiled: "In fairness to him, he's some man. He's like an Energizer bunny, you can't keep him down.

"What he brings to the camp is not just his play, it's the craic and he's a great man around the team.

"He's just really enthusiastic and loves playing the game. Being honest, he doesn't concern himself with dual debates, he just goes out and plays the game as if he's ten years of age.

"He has such a love for both and nobody can tell him any different. It's tough going in fairness but he loves playing week in, week out and the games are falling into his lap."

It could be another landmark weekend in the Clare household as Eoin's twin Conor prepares for Sunday's All-Ireland SHC quarter-final against Galway.

And with both games on separate days, it's eased any potential logistical headaches.

Cleary said: "Conor is really looking forward to the weekend. It's a great game for him, real championship stuff for both teams. I'll travel down to the hurling on Sunday. It's handy for the parents too because the two games are not on the same day."

Cleary is relishing the prospect of locking horns with beaten Connacht finalists Roscommon and is pleased with Clare's progress this year, as he believes the team hit "rock bottom" in 2015.

He explained: "It's a nice situation to be in. After last year, we felt Clare football was at rock bottom after the success of 2014, when we achieved promotion and had a decent championship campaign.

"Laois was a massive game for us. We had previously talked about not closing out tight games in the championship, we hadn't won one but the Laois win gave us the confidence to push on and we had a decent performance the last day against Sligo.

"Winning games like that against that type of opposition gives you confidence and the confidence in the camp is sky high. We're playing football nearly into August."

Victory over Roscommon would secure an All-Ireland quarter-final place for Clare and while the Rossies are viewed as vulnerable on the back of a six-day turnaround, Cleary is taking nothing for granted.

He added: "You look after your own camp and that's what they're going to do.

"They'll have been disappointed with last weekend but they have a lot of young guys and the six-day turnaround won't matter much to them.

"They're a fine side and we've seen enough of them on TV during the League.

"They played the top teams in the country and put up some fine performances.

"We're well aware of the task at hand, nothing's going to be easy but we're nicely prepared for it."

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