AFTER a training weekend spent fine-tuning their Championship preparations, the Antrim team bus reverses into the car park at Casement Park.
The pitch may be over-grown, the stand a derelict eyesore, but the club remains at the heart of Antrim GAA and the senior teams still gather there before and after games.
The Antrim senior footballers, almost to a man, cast a rueful glance out at a ground that once led claim to being one of the finest surfaces in Gaelic Games.
With upwards of 10,000 spectators expected to attend Saturday’s Ulster Senior Championship game against Tyrone, Antrim have been forced to give up home advantage once again with Armagh’s Athletic Grounds hosting this weekend’s quarter-final.
In recent years, Antrim footballers have used Corrigan Park as their home venue while the county hurlers have used the Whiterock Road venue as well as Dunloy and Cushendall.
This weekend’s clash with Tyrone is the type of game Casement Park would have hosted if it were redeveloped.
Stephen Beatty is one of a host of Antrim players who fear their inter-county career could be over by the time Casement Park is redeveloped.
“It is sickening,” stated Beatty.
“We were away last weekend and, on Sunday evening, we were reversing into Casement. As the bus was reversing, everyone was standing up looking out to the pitch thinking ‘this is an absolute disgrace’ – imagine being able to play Tyrone there?
“I could have dandered to down to Casement for the match. I’ve never played a county football game at Casement. That’s something I’d love to do. I did manage to play for the hurlers before it closed.
“Hopefully, in the next few years, it gets built. It should never have been closed.
“If they cut the grass we’d still play there! It is a bit gutting having to travel to Armagh for a home game. We all like playing in Armagh, but it is no Casement Park.”
The lack of home advantage makes Antrim’s already difficult task look like mission impossible.
On Saturday evening, they’ll take on a Tyrone side who reached last year’s All-Ireland final. They were well-beaten, but far from disgraced against a Dublin side who claimed a fourth successive All-Ireland title.
Few outside of the Antrim camp will give the Saffrons a hope in hell against Mickey Harte’s men, but that it just the way Beatty prefers it.
“The fact that we are such big underdogs has made the team come together a lot more,” said Beatty.
“This has probably been the closest team I’ve been on over the last number of years.
“We all know we have been given no chance, but it is 15 against 15. You are marking another person, they aren’t super-human. We know if we implement the tactics Lenny (Harbinson) has been giving us, we’ll be in the match at the end. Anything can happen - I can’t wait for it.
“I’d rather be in our position than their position.
“Seeing Tyrone get run close by Derry probably hasn’t done us any favours. They’ll be aware that they can’t take anybody for granted and they’ll want to go out and put up a high score against us.”
While Tyrone were workmanlike rather than spectacular against the Oak Leafers in the preliminary round clash earlier this month, Beatty feels Damien McErlain’s men provided a blueprint to how to live with Tyrone’s counter attacking style, even if they ultimately fell short.
He added: “I really admire the way Tyrone go forward and they way they work hard.
“You could see holes in their game against Derry and I think Derry exposed them a little bit. They didn’t give them any time on the ball and they didn’t give them any respect.
“Against a team like Tyrone, there’s no point in sitting back and inviting them on to you – they’ll rip you apart. Derry didn’t play ultra-defensive, but every time Tyrone came forward, they hit them early and I don’t think Tyrone were expecting that.
“I’d say it will be a different game this weekend. They’ll not take anything for granted this time.”
Should Antrim find themselves on the end of a heavy defeat, it is likely to add fuel to the debate surrounding a tiered Championship in football.
GAA president John Horan has already stated his desire to see some form of a tiered Championship introduced, while outspoken pundit Joe Brolly recently floated the idea of three tiers in football to mirror that of the Ladies Championship.
The prospect of having an achievable goal to work towards for the Championship season is something that excites Beatty, but he insists any lower tiered format must be marketed and promoted correctly by the GAA.
“I sort of go back and forth and change my mind on it every so often,” stated the Rossa clubman.
“You go and watch the big games in Croke Park and it would be great to be a part of it. You know if there is a ‘B’ Championship, you won’t get that publicity and support.
“It isn’t going to be a big deal. I do think there is a big gap between the top eight and the rest of the country.
“You seen some of the results already with Limerick, who are Division Four, beating Tipperary from Division Two.
“It shows that anything can happen on the day, but those results are once in a blue moon stuff.
“I think it would be great for the younger players coming through, seeing Antrim winning and getting to finals and maybe winning it. That will, hopefully, inspire others to want to play for Antrim.
“I love playing for Antrim, but it mustn’t look the best playing in Division Four and not getting promoted. What is there to aspire to?”
Beatty thinks the hurling format works better than its football counterpart, adding: “I think the hurling set-up with the Joe McDonagh Cup is unbelievable.
“If there was something similar for football, it would be brilliant. For example, if you won the equivalent of the Joe McDonagh in football, you progressed to the last 16 in the ‘A’ Championship.
“They used to have the Tommy Murphy Cup and I remember a few of the Rossa lads playing in it, but I don’t think it got the right publicity either. It falls on the GAA to promote these competitions. We mightn’t be the best teams, but we want to compete against teams at a similar level.”