Carlow manager Turlough O'Brien is opposed to any moves to introduce an All-Ireland 'B' football championship.

The Barrowsiders enjoyed their longest championship run in 73 years this summer and O'Brien reckons interest in the Carlow footballers has never been greater.

"I'm not in favour of it at all," he told the Irish Sun.

"We play teams at our level in the league. Championship is all about the big day where the minnow plays against the big fish and one day you are going to take one of them out. That's the magic and that's why big crowds go to these games, even though their county has no chance of winning the All-Ireland. It's very important for these counties.

"The Carlow hurlers operate in the Christy Ring Cup and one of the players tweeted during the summer that all of the focus was on the Carlow footballers because we were playing Dublin.

"And I could see where he is coming from, because those fellas are operating at a high level too but because it was the Christy Ring Cup, they don't get the exposure we got by playing Dublin.

"If you want to grow the game in all the counties, you must have days like the championship days. The pitch at half-time of the Carlow-Monaghan game was covered in young kids with Carlow jerseys. The terrace was covered in Carlow jerseys. We haven't seen that in a long time in Carlow.

"The GAA need to be ­cognisant of that, that they don't chase this extreme ­elitism of the top four teams and forget about the rest.

"We are entitled to our day in the championship."

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