TJ REID has suggested that he could play on with Kilkenny until he’s 40, acknowledging that part of his job as a gym owner is to ‘inspire people’.
The seven-time All-Ireland winner turned 37 over winter though is still going strong and is expected to be a key figure in Kilkenny’s upcoming Championship campaign.
Speaking this afternoon at the announcement that Centra has extended its sponsorship of the All-Ireland SHC for another five years, Reid said there’s no reason he can’t keep pulling on the black and amber in principle.
Reid, along with his brother Richie and goalkeeper Eoin Murphy, are the only current Kilkenny players with All-Ireland SHC medals from their last win in 2015.
Asked if he would be capable of playing for Kilkenny at 40, Reid smiled before answering.
“I can, yeah,” said the married father of one. “I have to ask the wife first! But yeah, the human body is a tool that can be used.
“Injury-wise I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had a few niggles here and there, a few things that put me out for a few weeks or months, but nothing long-term.
“There were great soldiers back in the day like Mick Fennelly and Michael Rice who, with bad injuries probably, had to retire two or three years early. Richie Power was another with his knee, Richie Hogan, Padraic Maher in Tipperary.
“Unfortunately, injuries can come on, and it does make a decision a little bit easier. But I’m very lucky that I’ve had no major injuries that put me out. So we’ll see how 40 goes!”
Reid had a longer winter break than normal as a result of Ballyhale Shamrocks’s failure to make the county final for the first time since 2017. He didn’t return to match activity with Kilkenny until March.
“The body is good, I look after myself, my industry is health and fitness,” said the gym owner. “My job is to inspire people to be better and to look after themselves with their health and fitness and strength and conditioning and nutrition.
“The main thing is that you have to enjoy it. You want to be going to training and wanting to be there, that you have the willingness to put in the effort, the willingness to sacrifice, the willingness to dedicate your life to it because it’s a high-priority thing.
“For me, I have my family, my work and my hurling. That’s what I enjoy doing. I’ve nothing else outside of that.”
Meanwhile, Limerick’s William O’Donoghue confirmed at this afternoon’s event that he’s fully fit again following a hamstring issue.
“I’d never had a soft tissue injury before and picked up two little nicks in the hamstring,” said the experienced midfielder. “It feels great now, back to full training. I’m feeling positive and showing no ill effects of it in the hamstrings. All’s good now so hopefully that’s the end of it.”
he may have been bad for sligo but what kind of amatuers are running what is supposed to be a professional football club up there?
Embarrassing that a so called Professional club can conduct its’ business in this way.
Absolute disaster of a manager. 4 th largest budget in the league and stuck in a relegation fight with only 2 wins. Has footballers but insists on a long ball game. Players he brought in are, for the most part, useless. The football is shite as reflected by the fans who are voting with their feet. He is playing the Martyr but wants to be paid off on his full 2 year contract with no compromise. People may say contracts should be honoured but with Heary in charge Rovers will be relegated no question.
Ok, we get it, you don’t like the guy and as you say, results seem to support why you have that opinion. That’s no reason to mistreat him though. Sack him if you want but at least be professional about it and communicate it clearly. One minute the club release a statement that they have parted company, then say they’ve reinstated him and then say he stepped down…all contradictory messages. All the signs suggest to me that there are real problems with the management of that club. Do your business behind closed doors!
I’m a Bohs supporter so have little time or sympathy for Heary but Sligo have made a balls of how they’ve handled the situation. Very unprofessional and if I was a Sligo fan, I’d be rightly pissed off with the club.
Is that true that they have the 4th largest budget in the league? Presumably Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Pats (unsustainably) are the top 3. I thought John Caulfield was talking shite when he said he was operating off the 5th largest budget but apparently not.
This mess isn’t helping any of the parties involved from the manager to chairman and committee
As a rovers supporter I very disappointed by the whole thing.
There has been no clear statements from the club since things have gone pear shaped
We have some very capable players and heary is not a capable manager look at bohs performance this season compared to last.
All in all I think this is going to be an expensive tale for rovers and we should keep to our managers from abroad as proven thru the years to be the most successful for use
heary won’t walk away from the 18 months left on his contract worth a reported 70k. that’s why he says he was fired . He wants his payoff. The club can’t afford to pay him off but If fans stay away like what’s happening now then 65% of gate receipts budgets for next season will leave the club in trouble next season as well . The club need to bite the bullet and pay him off and say good riddance to a shite manager . heary doesn’t look good in this situation either . no club will touch him in the future now. The sacking was the right decision 2 wins from 16 is shocking. I’m just disappointed by the way the rovers board handled this
Delighted he finished with Bohs when he did, was an absolute disaster as manager his stint at Sligo just confirmed that he’s simply not up to the task of managing a club in the League of Ireland.