Defending Ulster club football champions Crossmaglen Rangers have been forced to go to the Down County Board to try to find a suitable training pitch with floodlights after being refused permission to use their own county ground ahead of Sunday's provincial decider.

Furious Rangers manager Donal Murtagh has revealed that, in a bid to practice under floodlights in preparation for Sunday's Ulster final, his side sought permission to use the Athletics Grounds in Armagh, but were refused by their county board.

"They refused point blank, but to be honest, I am not surprised," Murtagh said.

"It is bad form, we are representing our county as county champions after all."

The Armagh board have insisted that they are allowing no one to train in the revamped Athletics Grounds, not even teams who have had matches there recently.

"It is 'matches only' in the Athletics Grounds at the moment, with no exceptions," said Armagh PRO Joe Jordan.

"Teams who are coming in there to play games are allowed to use the county's elite training centre at Shannonbridge to train on, but there is a fairly hefty programme of matches at the county ground at the moment and the same rule is being applied across the board."

With a 3.45pm throw-in for Sunday's Ulster final against Ballinderry in Enniskillen, the Ulster Council have indicated that full floodlights will be used for the match.

Murtagh wanted to practice in the Athletic Grounds as their lights will most closely replicate those match conditions.

And he is far from impressed with such a late throw-in, especially as most fixtures at this time of year have a 2pm or 2.30pm throw-in because of the fading light.

"From the start we were disappointed by the fact that game will be under lights," said Murtagh.

"At first the Ulster Council said the second-half would be under lights, but with the weather and the time of year it is getting dark at 3pm and 4pm.

"It is only a minor thing, but some of my players aren't that fussed on playing the whole game under lights and at this stage of the Ulster club championship, you can leave little to chance."

It remains to be seen whether the Down County Board will give Crossmaglen the go-ahead to train at Pairc Esler in Newry ahead of Sunday’s game as it also has a busy schedule of matches at present.