By Jonny Stapleton

VOCAL and substantial Excel Arena Irish support has already been one of the stand out element of the Olympic Games from an Irish perspective, but head coach Billy Walsh worries massive Irish support could be a hindrance rather than help.

Adam Nolan praised the Irish in the Excel after his win on Sunday claiming they were a key factor in his debut win, but fellow Wexford man Walsh is concerned.

The High Performance main man isn’t to worried about fans in the stands, but more so distractions they can bring after a bout. Walsh is keen to keep the Irish team focused and in a specifically designed insulated performance orientated frame of mind and is wary of distractions. And as London is so close Walsh worries about the volume of said distractions.
“I’ll give you a statistic, Our best results have come in Eastern Europe and Asia. You can work out why that is, nobody goes. That cocooned performance mindset we have them in can be interrupted- especially being at home with family and friends- and it is really a home from home,” Walsh explained pre Olympics.

“That is the only worry I have. That’s why we brought the parents in (weeks before the Games) to speak with them as well about the type of communication we wil lbe having with each other and how often they can see them or can’t see them.  In Beijing there was a hand full of people. After they fought they spoke to their friends, there was the odd coach there and they went back on the bus to the village. In londn if they come up to where the crowd is there will be thousands of Irish and it will be mayhem.”