Meath need to show some muscle if they are to beat Dublin - Hayes

Former Meath footballer Liam Hayes says Meath need to become a more “physically aggressive” against Dublin if they are to have any chance of defeating the reigning All-Ireland champions at Croke Park on Sunday.

The Skryneman claims that Meath’s hopes of achieving one of the biggest upsets of recent times, and claiming the Leinster title for the first time since 2010, depends on them fronting up to Jim Gavin’s side.

“If you show too much respect for Dublin, if you don’t take the game to them, if you’re not really, physically aggressive and also have a good ambitious game plan then you have no chance of beating them,” he told the Meath Chronicle.

“You could take them on in two or three ways but the primary way has to be physically. You have to physically back them up and if you can’t do that no matter what way you tactically approach the game I don’t think you can beat them.”

Hayes, who captained Meath when they defeated Dublin in the unforgettable four-game saga 25 years ago, also claims there are very strong comparisons between the situation now as it pertains in Leinster and when Meath made their big breakthrough in the 1980s.

Just like now, he asserts, Dublin were the dominant team in Leinster in the eighties and one of the best in the country. Meath usually put up a stout performance against their old rivals in the 1970s and early 1980s before succumbing to defeat.

Colm O’Rourke recalled in his book ‘The Final Whistle’ how Dublin presented a huge psychological barrier for Meath players. When the Royal County finally managed to beat their rivals in the 1986 Leinster final in a wet day in Croke Park it turned out to be a huge step in the right direction for Sean Boylan’s emerging team.

O’Rourke described that ‘86 victory as one of the sweetest - if not THE sweetest - of his career. It proved to be the launch-pad for future triumphs.

Hayes agrees that defeating Dublin back then was a massive barrier for the team to cross and only achieved when Meath took the game to their opponents - and resolved that they were not going to be pushed aside or bullied as had happened in previous occasions.

“That’s how we beat them in the end, we beat them tactically and we beat them physically and that’s what Meath now have to do. It’s not just a matter of saying we’re going to run Dublin off their feet, you have to say we’re going to take them on, we’re going to stand up to them.

“You have to get a message through to them that you’re a serious challenger because Dublin now believe they’re unbeatable in Leinster. They expect to win every game and when you expect to win every game invariably you do.”