McEntee excited to be back

An early morning rise on Tuesday quickly set the pulse racing for Meath manager Andy McEntee as his side were drawn to face the winners of Longford v Carlow in the Leinster SFC quarter-finals in mid-June.

While there are some very tough games to come in the new-look NFL Div 2 North, McEntee still holds not-so-fond memories of Meath's last Leinster SFC clash with Longford when they lost by 0-14 to 0-16 in the 2019 championship.

The 2018 victory over Carlow was considerably more straightforward, but McEntee admitted to the Meath Chronicle on Tuesday morning that that loss to Longford still lingers on his mind.

"That Longford game in 2018 is never too far from my mind. The game against Carlow in 2019 wasn't easy either, so I'm sure no matter who we end up facing it will be a tough game for us, but it is a bit too early to be looking that far ahead," said the Meath manager.

"We were only back training last night (Monday) for the first time and we have a very short run-in to the start of the league, so our focus needs to be on the Westmeath game before anything else right now.

"Until you see the form guide it will be hard to draw any conclusions about any potential opposition in the championship.

"It was pure knockout football for a long long time before the backdoor options came in, so I'm just delighted to be getting back onto the pitch and have the opportunity to play championship football.

"People need to understand the environment we are living in at the moment, there are drawbacks to it, but it is what it is.

"Everybody would appreciate having a second chance. The downside of cutthroat, knockout football is that if you have one off day then you can come undone. You work so long and you prep for the big games, but if you have an off day you don't get a second bite of the cherry.

"Having said that, the do or die element of football championship has its appeals to a lot of people. There are certainly pros and cons."

The formbook will be determined by a difficult league campaign that will see Meath tackle Westmeath and Down at home and a tough trip west to take on Mayo.

With not just promotion and relegation at stake in the league there is also the added pressure that a county's final standings in the league will determine their championship status for 2022 and the possibility of playing in the Tailteann Cup and that is a concern for McEntee.

"There is definitely pressure on this year and after speaking to a good few managers who are in the same boat we are aware of the pressure that is there to perform straight away," warned McEntee.

"Our performance in the league could potentially have huge implications on where we play football next year, not just league football, but also championship football.

"We are going into the league cold, we don't really know where we are at. The proposals are that there can be no challenge matches until at least the 4th May, so that gives us 10 days and potentially just one game before we go into a series of three matches which are of huge importance.

"My view of it is that if you are not allowed to prepare properly for matches then I'm not sure there should be consequences for where you finish in the league."

That lack of preparation time before jumping straight into the fire of three tough league games could also limit the opportunity for new players trying to force their way into McEntee's championship plans.

Last year players like Matt Costello, Cathal Hickey, Jordan Morris and Eoin Harkin were afford the opportunity to impress management and grabbed it with both hands, but this year those opportunities could be limited and so it could be tough for the likes of Gaeil Colmcille's Jordan Muldoon and Fionn Reilly or Boardsmill's Danny Dixon to seize their day.

"We will have three massive games in the league and we are always hoping that somebody will put their hand up, but one way or another you have no idea how a new player will perform in that environment, so if you are going to go with someone new we are going to have to be brave and take a chance," said McEntee.

"We had players who came through last year and really staked a claim and if we have a repeat of that this year then that would be over half your team at this stage. The quality of younger players coming through is very high.

"The break has given those new players the chance to do a bit of work on their own and get some work in that they wouldn't have got in otherwise.

"You would like to think that the new lads that broke through last year will have benefitted from the game time they got and if we could get another one or two lads to put their hands up then it means you have a very competitive camp."

After suffering a humbling loss to Dublin in last year's Leinster final the Meath players were chomping at the bit to get back to the playing fields, but that opportunity was taken from them by the Covid restrictions.

McEntee admits it has been tough stewing over that Leinster final and trying to operate an inter-county panel in lockdown, but he is confident that his players have worked hard and will bounce back.

Unfortunately there will be no backdoor or second chance in this year's championship, but McEntee believes that it’s the same for everyone, everyone who has abided by the lockdown rules that is.

"The lads found it difficult not having an opportunity to bounce back from the Leinster final defeat straight away, and the management found it difficult too," insisted the manager.

"I don't think our performance that evening was the best reflection of how we performed in general last year. The lads were very keen to get back on the field, but we weren't afforded that opportunity.

"It has been a good while since our last game, so it is hard to know where the players are at, but their appetite and their desire to get back on the pitch can't be faulted or questioned.

"Lockdown has been tough, but we have worked away remotely and this group of players have never had an issue buying into what we have asked them to do. They've been excellent in most facets of it, so I've no complaints there.

"It is a little bit frustrating because it is a concern that we are going into a tough campaign and we might be a bit less prepared than some other teams, that is the frustrating part.

"We will be going in blind and maybe a little bit cold. We won't know where we are at until we start playing, but I presume for the vast majority of counties it is the same situation," concluded McEntee.