Arguably one of the biggest shocks ever to occur in Westmeath club hurling happened last year when defending senior hurling champions Castlepollard succumbed to the unexpected and were relegated to the intermediate ranks for the 2007 campaign. For the best part of 16 years, Pollard have been considered one, if not the top team in Westmeath hurling, winning four senior hurling championships and competing in a further four finals, only to end up as runners-up. The club has produced many outstanding hurlers in recent years as Sean McLoughlin, Alfie and Ollie Devine, Barry Kennedy and Darren McCormack to name just a few have given sterling service to the county team. In many people's eyes, McCormack has been the real shining light of Westmeath hurling and indeed the Castlepollard team for over a decade. He spoke to the Maroon and White about the shock of being relegated and what the future holds for the club. Indeed it is no coincidence that 'Pollard's relegation coincided with McCormack missing the majority of the year through injury, but Darren stressed there were many contributing factors to their demise. At the start of the year, the 'town' were considered by everyone to have a realistic chance of defending their title and in doing so drawing level with Brownstown at the top of the SHC Roll of Honour with 15 titles. However, that plan must take a back seat for the next year as the club concentrate on making a quick return to the senior ranks and even though they will be red hot favourites to annex the intermediate title, Darren was adamant that they will be taking nothing for granted. "It was a huge disappointed to be relegated and everyone in the club is still in shock over what happened," said the county star. "We just have to pick ourselves up and make sure we come straight back up. "One thing is for sure, we won't be complacent as we know there are good teams in the intermediate championship and all will want to beat us. "The likes of Delvin have given us tough games in the senior championship recently, while Turin and Cullion have some very good hurlers. I know we will be favourites, but we can't afford to take anything for granted," he stressed. Without dwelling too much on excuses for what occurred last year, Darren admitted that a lengthy injury list did play its part in the campaign. "We started the year with the same numbers as the previous year and turn out for training was good. In the first match against Castletown Geoghegan, we played very well and were unlucky to lose," he admitted. "I think we showed some complacency in the group matches against Ringtown and Crookedwood. These were always going to be tough games, especially against Ringtown as they are our neighbours and local rivalry always plays a part. "But credit to them, they deserved to beat us that day and in fairness they played the better hurling. Crookedwood were determined to stay up in their first year as a senior team and they showed great determination throughout the year and certainly deserved a draw against us," he added. "By the time we played Oliver Plunkett's, the moral was very low in the squad and it was just impossible to lift the lads at that stage of the year. At the end of the day it's the players who have to take responsibility for the relegation and each and everyone of us has to ask the question how could we have done better?" Ironically, Darren missed out on the three group matches of the championship with a knee injury that is still troubling the talented centre back. This, along with the fact that the experienced Barry Kennedy was suspended and would also miss a large chunk of the campaign did not help Pollard's plight and as Darren explained they do not have the largest pool of players to choose from. "We have had a fairly small squad for a few years with maybe only 20 or 21 on average. Even when Barry and I were missing this year, there were other lads out injured at various stages, which did not help. "I think for the Plunkett's game we only had 18 togged out and that is a worrying sign. The underage is doing well enough and they are well looked after, but there seems to be a problem bringing them through to the senior team. "Our problem is that some are brought on too young and there is way too much expected of them, which is very unfair, because we all know it takes time to adjust to adult hurling," emphasised Darren. "It takes time for lads to develop, but with us having such small numbers, they are being rushed through onto the team and this could cause problems in the future." The 2007 campaign will see a change of management in Castlepollard as John Davis has stood down from the position of manager and has been replaced by former hurler Mick Macken, although Darren does not predict many changes in personnel on the playing front, despite a number of the squad entering the twilight of their careers. "I don't think too many of the lads will give it up just yet, especially after the relegation. Players like Sean McLoughlin, Jody Murray, Alfie Devine, Brendan Murphy and Robert McLoughlin are around the 35-36 mark, but they still have a lot to offer the club and hopefully they will continue for another while." Despite the disappointment of seeing the club being relegated, Darren can look back on 2006 with a degree of personal satisfaction as he represented Leinster in the Interprovincial championship, even if his participation came at a price. "I kind of rushed back from the knee injury a bit soon, but it was great to get on for even just a few minutes of the games and play alongside some outstanding hurlers. "I had been with Leinster before a few years ago, but never got a run, so that made it a bit special this year, although if I had to choose, I would rather have seen the club stay up," he enthused. Having played for the county for over ten years, Darren is in a better position than most to explain the steps that the county hurlers have made in recent years and he is hopeful that will continue in 2007. "Playing against the likes of Kilkenny and Waterford was a great buzz and that is where you want to be - playing against the best. Our aim this year will be to win the Christy Ring Cup again and gain promotion from Division Two to the top tier. "Westmeath hurling will only benefit from playing stronger teams and it creates a great interest among the supporters, just look at the crowds that turned up for the championship games last year", said Darren. "I think we didn't concentrate on the Laois game enough and were more concerned about playing Kilkenny and Waterford, which shouldn't have been the case as if we beat Laois we would have stayed up." For Darren McCormack and his Castlepollard team-mates, the 2007 campaign will be like a trip into the unknown as they embark on a journey through the intermediate ranks, which many feel will see them return to the senior grade at the first attempt, but one thing is for sure if Darren has anything to do with it, complacency will not be allowed set in! Tweet

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