Jimmy Lee says Newcastle West are”mentally very strong” after retaining title for first time

Newcastle West are seeking a first final appearance since 1987 this Sunday in Thurles.

Newcastle West are back in the Munster Club Football Championship after retaining their Limerick title to set up with a provincial semi-final clash against Clonmel this Sunday.

The West Limerick side beat Adare in the final to retain their title for the first time ever. They did need extra-time to see off Adare and have shown a resilience in both final and semi where Monaleen pushed them all the way.

Newcastle West have shown an ability to grind out results throughout the championship and will need that experience this Sunday as they embark on a fourth provincial run since 2015.

Manager Jimmy Lee was full of praise for his team’s perseverance as they prepare for another tilt at Clonmel.

“I suppose we have benefitted from this, one thing you’d have to say about the boys is their mentally very strong in terms of seeing out battles like that.”

“We’ve done it in the last two years, so mentally the lads I would consider to be very strong when it gets down to the nitty-gritty they can see it out.”

Their opponents beat a fancied Nemo Rangers by four points in the quarter-finals a fortnight ago to set up the clash in Thurles. The performance sent out a warning sign as they look to win a first title in seven years and only second overall.

Blessed with strong runners in midfield, the two sides match up well with Lee saying,

“A lot of the battles are won in the middle third now and it’s an area we have worked hard on so we’d be happy enough in that regard.

“Your workrate of your halfbacks and half forwards is phenomenal. You could nearly be running ten kilometres in a match.”

Lees side will be hoping to use the experience of 2021 to set up a final against either Kerins O’Rahilly’s or Eire Og Ennis.

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