Seamus McEnaney.

Hectic schedule ahead for new Meath boss

Last weekend was meant to the time for talking to end and let the action begin, but Seamus McEnaney's attempt to weigh up his options as new manager of the Meath senior football team was thwarted by the big freeze that struck the country for a third time in six weeks. Since being appointed as manager in succession to Eamonn O'Brien, McEnaney has been very positive in his outlook and last Sunday was meant to be Meath supporters chance to see where the Monaghan man's optimism arose from, but those plans went out the window and were rescheduled for last night (Tuesday) in Pairc Tailteann. Like everyone else in the county McEnaney was disappointed that the game was postponed and he now faces a race against time to select his final training panel ahead of the start of the NFL Div 2 campaign against Laois in Portlaoise on Saturday 5th February. “I'm disappointed that the game had to be called off on Sunday because it has disrupted our preparations further. We had a game against Kilmacud Crokes set for Saturday and that never materialsed either,†McEnaney told the Meath Chronicle on Sunday. “I had hoped that over those two games I'd have had a chance to look at over 40 players, but now I won't get to see a player in action until the O'Byrne Cup refixture on Tuesday night (last night). “We also had four trial matches in a row called off in the last cold snap and that too was very disappointing, but there is nothing anybody can do about the weather and we just have to get on with the job and concentrate on this coming week. “We need to get our panel sorted quickly. We have only had three training sessions, last Tuesday, Friday and today (Sunday), so that has left us a bit behind. We have been focusing on getting fit in those sessions, so we haven't had much chance to do football work yet,†said the former Monaghan coach. While Meath are lagging behind in their training, McEnaney was delighted with the response to the boxing event that was held in Trim last week. He feels that the experience was great for Meath GAA and also helped bond the panel together. “The boxing was a great adventure to get the lads training and get some good work done, but it was also more than that. The whole thing was a great event for Meath GAA. “It was a great night's craic for everyone involved including the players, supporters and the management team. It was also a great bonding session as well and I know the lads had a good social night out of it, but they were back to the hard work and serious business the following Tuesday night. It certainly didn't do us any harm,†said the Meath manager. McEnaney was expected to field a hugely experimental side for the O'Byrne Cup tie against the UCD students, but the Meath manager surprised many by naming a strong side that would have featured seven players who played in last year's championship. He also recalled Cormac McGill and Brian Sheridan to the team following their absence from the panel last year and will give debuts to Donaghmore/Ashbourne's David Morgan and Skryne's promising youngster Ciaran Lenehan. “We sat down to pick a team for last Sunday's game and wanted to put out a strong enough side. That same team will be the one we will put out on Tuesday night (last night) if the game goes ahead,†said McEnaney. “I know a lot about Meath football having played against them with Monaghan a good few times over the last six years. What we wanted to do with our first team selection was get five or six players that played in last year's championship and supplement them with four or five lads that were on the panel, but didn't play too much and then add in a few players that didn't play at all yet for Meath.†With his first team selection made, McEnaney is still hoping to look at plenty of players over the next few weeks before finally settling on a training panel of 35. It will be a hectic few weeks for the management and the players, but McEnaney is eager to get going and is looking forward to the challenge. “We are hoping that the game against UCD will go ahead on Tuesday (last night) and then we will try to get a trial game on Thursday night to have a look at a few other lads. Win or lose on Tuesday we will be out in the O'Byrne competition against next Sunday and then we will have two further trial games the following week to try to get the panel down to 35 players,†he said. “It is all about trying to get games to find the players and we need to work on fitness as well. We have to try to squeeze a lot of work into a short space of time, but we have to get on with it and get it done. “As the last team manager in the country to be appointed I was at a disadvantage straight away because other managers have had more time to get their panel together and work with them a bit more, but I'm not complaining or making excuses, I'm just getting on with the job now and looking forward to the future,†concluded the Meath manager. The Meath team for last night's (Tuesday) game against UCD was expected to be Brendan Murphy (Trim); Cormac McGill (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), James Macken (Rathkenny), Davy Dalton (Summerhill); David Morgan (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), Cormac McGuinness (Navan O'Mahonys), Ciaran Lenehan (Skryne); Mark Ward (Navan O'Mahonys), Conor Gillespie (Summerhill); Shane McAnarney (Clann na nGael), Cian Ward (Wolfe Tones), Niall Mooney (St Patrick's); Graham Reilly (St Colmcille's), Brian Sheridan (Seneschalstown), Brian Farrell (Nobber).