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DJ Carey's IT Carlow were beaten in the Fitzgibbon Cup earlier today. Donall Farmer/INPHO
Decision time

DJ Carey set to remain in charge of IT Carlow -- if he's asked to do so

Without injured free-taker Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher, the Kilkenny legend’s side lost by four points to LIT earlier.

KILKENNY LEGEND DJ Carey is expected to remain in charge of IT Carlow’s Fitzgibbon Cup hurling team next year — if he’s asked to do so.

Carey guided IT Carlow to the quarter-finals of this year’s competition and the expectation is that the League champions can build on an impressive campaign, with the vast majority of this year’s squad still available for next season.

Without injured free-taker Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher, IT Carlow lost by four points to hosts LIT in a game overshadowed before throw-in by the eligibility row surrounding corner back James Gannon.

IT Carlow only discovered that the game was going ahead after arriving in Limerick as an appeal lodged by Mary Immaculate College to the DRA failed.

Carey said: “We came down prepared to play, we came out and we played and that’s it.

“The consolation is that we’re here and we feel justified that our team was proper, it was right.

“I was here when we found out the game was on. There was a possibility that it would have been called off and maybe the weekend called off but I don’t think we would have been any better prepared tomorrow, or Friday, or Saturday, or next week or the week after than we were today.

“Did it affect our players? We won’t use that as an excuse. We trained last Monday night, trained last Wednesday night and trained yesterday.”

Carey admitted that lessons can be learned from the debacle that dogged the competition over the previous nine days.

He said: “I’m not sure what exact lessons can be learned except if someone is a student, they’re a student.

“If they’re not, they’re not, simple as that. I’m not sure what the absolute technicalities of everyone’s course is, but if you’re doing a course from September onwards, you’re a legitimate player as far as I know or would be concerned.

“If that’s not the rule, then state it’s not the rule.

“Why does it take so long for someone to object? Why does it take so long for all the paperwork supposed to be right? If someone is not happy they should state it straight away and then get the paperwork in so a decision can be looked at immediately so we don’t have this dragged out for two weeks.

“Maybe the lesson to be learned is to have an issue dealt with straight away.

“It’s disappointing that it’s dragged out so long to this but the match went ahead; the match is a hurling game, we hurled, they hurled, they were better on the day than us and we have no excuses.”

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