Andy McEntee pleased with progress so far

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It was almost a case of your damned if you do and your damned if you don't for Meath manager Andy McEntee in Castlebar last Sunday.

With a place in the NFL Div 2 promotion play-offs already secured, Meath's trip to take on Mayo had nothing at stake other than determining top spot in Div 2 North.

That meant Sunday was the perfect opportunity for McEntee to have a better look at his squad and see who is capable of staking a claim to a starting berth for the semi-final against Kildare.

McEntee made eight changes to the side that was listed in the programme and 10 changes from the team that started the previous round against Down.

The manager handed first starts to goalkeeper Harry Hogan, Ratoath's Jack Flynn and David Dillon (Navan O'Mahonys). He also gave rare appearances to Jason Scully, Jack O'Connor and Brian Conlon and welcomed Eamon and Joey Wallace and James Conlon back into the starting side.

Others like Keith Curtis and Liam Byrne made their debuts from the bench while Boardsmill's Danny Dixon also featured.

However, with so many changes Meath struggled to get to the pitch of the game and some of the newcomers were cruelly exposed by one of the best teams in the land.

It was harsh on the new, young players to be asked to make an impression in such an unsettled side.

Maybe two or three new players supported by 12 or 13 of the regular starters might have been a more measured approach, but as was stated at the start - McEntee was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Undoubtedly there is more learned in defeat than in victory and while not everything went Meath's way in that torrid opening half n Sunday, McEntee while have taken a lot of information about the limitations and abilities of his 'fringe' players.

The manager was well aware of the difficulty of the situation the new players found themselves in, but he is sure that they will also learn from it.

"Everybody knows that Mayo is a quality side. The pace of the game and their physicality and how they punished us every time we made a mistake was probably the difference between the sides," claimed McEntee.

"Almost every time we gave the ball away in the first-half we seemed to get punished.

"How do you get experience without playing games?

"It was a tough start for a few of the players, but you would like to think they would all be better for it.

"The weather contributed to just how difficult it was as well as the quality of the opposition.

"When Mayo attack they attack from the back at a good pace and even their half-back and full-back lines have good pace.

"If you turn the ball over in the wrong areas then you are going to get punished and I think we conceded seven scores in the first-half from turn over possession."

That relentless pace from deep was something Meath struggled to get to grips with.

They had to funnel so many players back into defensive stations that when they did manage to force a turnover the options up top were limited.

Mayo seemed to have more energy in their legs, more know-how in their heads.

They defended in numbers, but left enough of a threat in attack to occupy the Meath backs and cause problems on the break.

It is those type of situations that Meath need to be exposed to more often, so that they can learn and it is the best teams, like Mayo, that play that style of football over and over again.

Securing promotion back to Div 1 is key to Meath improving and McEntee agrees that while winning a place back at the top division isn't vital for the short-term it is crucial for the long-term development of Meath football.

"Promotion is the big aim for us, we want to be playing teams like Mayo pretty much all the time," stated McEntee.

"It's not the be all and end all, but winning promotion is important because we want to be competing against the top tier sides as much as possible," said McEntee.

"Playing top flight football, and the more often you are exposed to top quality opposition like we were exposed to today, the better it is for us and the more our lads will learn.

"Mayo look pretty well down the road at the moment. They look in good shape and they have that physicality and pace.

"They got game time into a few players who are coming back, so I'm sure they'll be pretty happy with that.

"Getting back to Div 1 is key, but you have to learn from games like this if you want to be playing teams like that all the time.

"For the longer term development it is always good to be playing Div 1 teams," he added.

After a hectic schedule of three games in 14 days, two of them away, Meath will now have next weekend free, but McEntee insists it will be a balancing act between allowing players recover from their exertions and maintaining the prep work for the start of the Leinster SFC.

Several of the Meath players looked drained as they left the Castlebar pitch on Sunday, but McEntee believes that most of the problems were cramp and he is confident they will be fine for the league semi-final in two weeks.

The manager was also delighted to get game time into Mickey Newman who impressed on his return to the side.

"It was a pretty hot day out there and they worked very hard, so I think it was just cramp and everything is okay with the lads who came off," said the manager.

"It is really good to have Mickey (Newman) back. Even just to have him on the panel is great.

"You can see what he can still offer on the field so it is nice to have him available for us again.

"Jack O'Connor has a lot of pace and plenty of ball skills, so he certainly made a decent impact today too.

"We still have to have an eye on the championship, so we have to find a good mix between getting a good bit of work done and also being rested for the next game.

"Up until today I was really happy with how the league has gone for us, but that is the way it is.

"Ultimately the game against Kildare will determine whether this has been a successful campaign or not."

With two more goalkeepers trialed against Mayo McEntee was asked if he believes the role of the goalkeeper has changed and if he is going down the line of looking at players who are comfortable on the ball and able to contribute out the field?

"I don't think any of the lads would have any problem with giving the ball to any of our goalkeepers," replied McEntee.

"All those lads are good footballers and that is the way the game is developing.

"Your goalkeepers have to be footballers as well and you have to be able to exploit that if possible," he concluded.