Billy Lee stresses importance of home venue as Limerick begin Allianz Football League quest

LIMERICK manager Billy Lee wants his side to make home advantage count as they embark on their Allianz Football League campaign.

Limerick play Longford this Saturday evening (5pm) in TUS Gaelic Grounds in the first of seven Division Three games.

"Home games are vital and we have four of them this time round - away games are hard to win so the home games have fallen in our favour this year," outlined Lee.

"We would certainly be trying to mind our own house and then see what we can do when we travel away."

Crucially four of the Limerick games are in the TUS Gaelic Grounds – Longford, Louth, Westmeath and Fermanagh, with trips to Antrim, Wicklow and Laois.

This evening, Longford and Limerick meet in competitive fare for the first time since 2016.

"We played them a few times in challenge games when Padraic Davis was manager. They are very much an attacking team and tend to put up big tallies of points in games," said Billy Lee.

"They have a lot of capable individuals - backboned by their Leinster minor winning team of 2010." 

The men in blue and gold are under new management this year - Laois native Billy O'Loughlin at the helm.

"We all know that a new manager brings a freshness to a squad and can reinvigorate them. People would be trying to prove themselves to the new manager and it keeps all on their toes."

Limerick also have a change in their backroom for 2022 - former manager Maurice Horan is now team coach, replacing Brian Begley.

"I would have to thank Brian for his years with us. He did a remarkable job for us at a time when it wasn't so easy to get a coach. He did a tremendous job and I want to thank him for his service," said Lee of Begley.

"Maurice (Horan) has come in and he knows the lie of the land Limerick - a former senior and U21 manager and he is a welcome addition. He has hit the ground running in training," said Lee.

Last evening, Limerick named their team to play Longford - details here

Today is the first league meeting of the teams since 2016 when Longford were 0-13 to 1-8 winners in Pearse Park in a season in which Limerick were relegated - Donal O'Sullivan, Sean O'Dea, Iain Corbett, Darragh Tracey, Cian Sheehan and Peter Nash were all in that starting team and remain in situ.

The last time Longford came to Limerick for a league tie was 2014 - the men in green were 2-11 to 0-11 winners in the Gaelic Grounds in a season in which Longford were relegated.

The last championship clash between the teams was 2013 - an All-Ireland SFC Qualifier defeat brought an end to Maurice Horan's tenure as Limerick manager.

Horan is now back as Shannonside coach - replacing Brian Begley in Billy Lee's backroom team for 2022. Back in 2013, Iain Corbett and Donal O'Sullivan were part of Horan's panel and remain in the inter-county set-up and are joint-captains.

Limerick enter the Allianz League on the back of a McGrath Cup campaign that produced defeats to both Kerry and Tipperary.

After Saturday’s home tie, Limerick will journey to Belfast one week later to face Antrim before a mini-break.