Nothing less than a convincing win will suffice for Meath
As the old song goes 'it's a long way to Tipperary' and while Saturday's Tailteann Cup game is in Pairc Tailteann it will be a long way back for Meath if they slip up against the Munster men in the opening round of the second tier competition.
Starting out in a competition nobody wants anything to do with, Meath have to get their focus sharp because if they are not on their game then their pride will be in line for another fall.
The reality of Meath football at this early stage under the redevelopment of Colm O'Rourke is that they are where they deserve to be. There can be no complaints, no sulking, no whinging.
Meath have to get on with the job in hand and nothing less than convincing performances and positive results in this Tailteann Cup will suffice if any green shoots are to be fertilised after what was a frustrating and disappointing spring.
Getting back to winning ways is the key for Meath. They need to rebuild their fragile confidence and get some much-needed valuable inter-county game time into their plethora of inexperienced players - that is why this Tailteann Cup is so important.
However, anyone expecting Tipperary to come to Pairc Tailteann next Saturday and just roll over might as well just stay at home because they will not be prepared for the huge battle ahead.
Tipperary is a proud GAA county. Hurling takes centre stage, but the football fraternity are as passionate, committed and hungry for success as any, and they will be bouncing coming to Navan aiming to claim a massive scalp.
Meath are the big name team in the Tailteann Cup every other side will want to topple. The green and gold colours are there to be lowered and while Meath will be fancied to win all three games in their group, for the others these games will be like All-Ireland finals.
The formbook doesn't lie for both Meath or Tipperary - both are in dire straits.
Meath haven't won a game since their 4-8 to 0-16 win over Clare on 5th February. Not only have they not won since, but their levels of performance have been so sub-par that there is real concern that the slide can't be stopped.
The heavy losses to Dublin and Derry showed just how far behind the leading pack the Royals languish. The calamity of the draw with relegated Limerick and the weak showing in the final league game against Kildare all came to a head in the dreadful opening half in the Leinster SFC loss to Offaly.
There were signs of improvement in the second-half against Offaly, but now Meath need to step up to the next level. Show some ruthless ambition. Put each and every opponent to the swords and be as empathic and devastating as possible - starting with Tipperary. Before we go any further, just a reminder that Tipperary beat Meath by 2-15 to 1-10 in NFL Div 2 in 2018, while the Royals did get revenge in the opening round a year later with a 0-15 to 1-8 victory. Tipperary finished bottom of NFL Div 3 this year without a win to their name. They did manage one draw with their fellow relegated side Longford and finished the other six games with a scoring difference of -45, an average of over seven points loss a game.
They lost by three to Down, by 12 to Cavan, by eight to Andy McEntee's Antrim, by nine to Fermanagh, by seven to Offaly and by six to Westmeath - anything less than a seven point win for Meath and there will be concerns.