Westport's young lions are ready to roar
Silverware for Westport United last season was huge for the young players, says captain Gary Cunningham. Picture: Michael Donnelly
With no Super League title since 2017, is it finally safe to call Westport United dark horses? It is strange to denominate one of the county’s biggest clubs with such a title but that is where Westport are at. A respectable fourth place finish last year and a Westaro Cup title to boot made it a memorable one for the club.
The rebuilding process that Kevin McNamara has been guiding them through remains ongoing but long-awaited, long-term replacements for legendary club figures like Phil Keegan and David Hoban have been emerging. Players like Adam Nugent and Kevin Kitterick, last season’s top scorer, look set to be leading men in the years to come. They are young however, and will look to experienced heads like Darren Browne, Cillian McGlade and Gary Cunningham to show them the way forward.
There are a couple of results they endured last season they would bite your hand off to have another crack at, such as narrow defeats to Celtic and Ballyheane and disappointing draws with the likes of Glenhest and Manulla. If they turn the tide in games like these, it could turn into an exciting season indeed for Westport.
Westport United captain Gary Cunningham is hoping they can hit the ground running after a slow start last season, .
“It took a while to get going alright. I think we went on some run then, there was 11, 12, 13 games I think unbeaten.
“We lost the Super Cup final which was unfortunate but it's good to get there as well and two Cup finals. We finished fourth in the league. Could have pushed on a bit more but hopefully we'll use that to push on even further this year.
“Winning Westaro was massive. It gave us that momentum again. Obviously created good morale around the team. It shows that we can win things.
“I don't think too many gave the chance last year for winning then because we're such a young team but it gave us that little boost and it worked so hopefully we can kick on again.”
“It’s hugely important to them lads they have confidence,” added assistant manager Tony Pierce. “They've won a lot at underage level, they've played at a high level but the step up to Super League level is amazing, it's huge.
“It was about getting the game time, getting used to the pace of the game, the physicality of it and trying to make them competitive.” There is huge excitement in the town about the current crop but Pierce was urged patience is key as they feel ‘four or five years’ behind Castlebar Celtic in development.
“We're hugely excited to be part of the squad with them and try and help them develop. We need to be realistic as well. We're probably about four or five years behind them in development. If you look at the age profile of a lot of our players and the a profile of ours, we're a very, very young team. We played lads last year that were 16 and going on 17 years of age. They have a season behind them, they're that bit more experienced, but we still need to be realistic. They're still very, very young.
“But if we can build on what we did last year, try and finish in the top three, I think that would be success for us and try and bring in some silverware.
