“I can’t stand here and say I’m happy about it at all” – Westmeath manager on vice-captain’s move

Colin Kelly says it how it is.

"I had the conversation with James and to be honest with you, I was pretty stunned when I got the phone call, initially, on the Tuesday, but his mind was made up and you know, it wasn't going to be changed. I asked was it definite, and he said it was."

And he wasn't going to sugarcoat this one. Westmeath's vice captain James Dolan told his manager last Tuesday week that he was heading for America for the summer and that was effectively that. There's no doubting the fact that it was a hammer blow for Colin Kelly and for Westmeath. Dolan has been a key player for the Lake County for years, and this, combined with sudden nature of his departure, left the midlands county reeling. Coming just 12 days before their Leinster championship opener, like a bombshell it dropped on the Westmeath panel.

"I can't stand here and say I'm happy about it at all," said Kelly in an interview with Colm Parkinson on Thursday's GAA Hour. "He's been an outstanding player, an outstanding talent. He's a player I would have gotten fairly close to over the last couple of months,"  "It was a shock to say the least when he went. He would be held with good regard in the dressing room and in the game in general."

Not only was it disappointing for Kelly and Westmeath, it must have come as a massive shock, too. A trip to America takes a good bit of planning and you would have thought that Dolan might have let his manager and teammates know about his intended departure earlier on in the year. The Louth man went on to question the technicalities surrounding GAA players heading across the Atlantic. A new rule was brought in this year which effectively means that, should a player play a minute of action for their county in the championship, they would no longer be able to play for a club in America. Kelly feels that this restriction should extend further.

"But again, you can't play (club football) in Westmeath and Laois, so how can you play football with two different clubs in the same code? Why should players be allowed to play with Garrycastle, play with Westmeath, go away to America, play with America, come home and then just come home to play with their club? It's farcical to be honest with you. "If guys want to play in America, fine, let them play in America, but not to the detriment of their club or their county and the resources their county boards are putting into these fellas," he said.

Now, Westmeath have no option but to move on, forget about it, and focus on the challenge that Laois will bring to O'Connor Park on Saturday evening.

"James has made his decision, I'm not going to dwell on it too much. We've a lot of younger fellas, and experienced players in the squad. "For me it's now about the players that are in the dressing room. It's a massive blow, on one front, but it's someone else's opportunity on another." he said.

You can listen to this chat and much more from Thursday's GAA Hour Show right here.