The All-Ireland club championships resume next weekend with the replay of the hurling semi-final between Sixmilebridge and Graigue-Ballycallan. The finals are scheduled for Easter Monday, April 16th.

The five remaining teams have been in a state of suspension since the foot-andmouth restrictions were imposed over the past four weeks. As players who were planning to reach a peak a week ago, they have been hit harder than any other group within the GAA. For the managers, the task of coping with uncertainty and altered training schedules has been a difficult one.

The Irish Times asked four of the managers (Nemo's Billy Morgan is out of the country) the following questions: How had their training and momentum been affected by the break; to what extent did the lay-off help in clearing injury (only Nemo captain Larry Kavanagh managed to discharge a suspension); what is the extent of local concern about playing matches during the current foot-and-mouth outbreak?

Paddy Meehan (Sixmilebridge manager).

We were ticking over until this week and now we've picked it up. We're playing a challenge against the Clare under-21s this weekend which is a bit risky just six days before the game, but we've had no match practice.

Hopefully we can get through without injury; we've none at the moment. All our training has been restricted to our own parish. We trained on the Wednesday after the draw, the day of the outbreak in south Armagh, and when we learned that the quarantine period was 30 days, we decided 10 days off wouldn't do any harm.

We definitely lost momentum and found it difficult to train without a definite date. Since the March 31st date was announced, things have picked up. Pat Hayes was doubtful for the last match with back and hamstring problems. Now he's perfect. We'll be stronger.

Sixmilebridge is a major farming area and there's a good number of farmers on the team. But people are listening to every radio bulletin hoping the match goes ahead.

Jim Neary (Graigue-Ballycallan manager).

Training hasn't been too badly disrupted. The main problem was our inability to play challenge matches. I felt the break would leave us better prepared because a month ago we were training in bad weather and playing challenges in quagmires. Preparation is nearer the ideal now.

Build-up is better than it was before the drawn match. Tomas McCluskey is our only injury, but it's long term. There were a few players who reported a flu the weekend we were supposed to replay the semi-final. They would have played on the Saturday but wouldn't have been at their best.

We've been careful at training with footbaths, mats and brushes outside the club. We're in a farming heartland, but there hasn't been any suggestion that we shouldn't play. It sounds a bit insular with everything that's happening in Louth, but everyone would like to get on with it.

Pat Nally (St Mary's, Athenry manager).

We're lucky enough to be used to preparing for St Patrick's Day and we're used to a routine so the Lord knows how this is going to affect us. We repeated what we did in preparation for the semi-final in February, a lot of physical work at first and now we're back hurling again.

I think we've lost a certain amount of momentum, not being able to play challenges. We've no injuries that needed clearing-up and no suspensions to work out. The break has been of no benefit to us. This is very much a farming area - most of our players are farmers - and it would be felt very hard if anything happened.

Thomas Jordan (Crossmolina manager).

It has disrupted everything. We were completely geared to a St Patrick's Day final and the uncertainty has been an added difficulty. Training was a bit of problem because we didn't ask lads to travel home from outside the county.

It's been a hassle, not just for us, but also for everyone else. If it doesn't go ahead, I'd be afraid that people would lose interest and this year's championship will start before we're finished this year's. Kieran McDonald is fine, but he would have been fine for St Patrick's Day anyway. Very few in the club wouldn't be connected with farming.

Ephie Fitzgerald (Nemo Rangers selector).

Initially we took it easy because we weren't sure when the match was going to be played. No sooner had we got the go-ahead to focus on Easter Monday, than it's now in semi-doubt. The difficulty is keeping fellas fresh. Training hasn't been affected at all and we've really gone at it this week.

Larry Kavanagh must be the only fella in the country who's benefited from foot-and-mouth, but I think he deserves the break. Colin Corkery picked up a slight injury but he'll be fine. I think if there are any more outbreaks, the match shouldn't go ahead. You've got to put things in perspective.