'Success for us will be driven by our performances'

Over the last half-decade or so, Niamh Gallogly has had a fantastic time of it both in the colours of Meath and Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels. The prolific ball carrier has been crucial for her club and county as both sides consistently performed to the highest level.

When you are used to such success as a player, it can be difficult when things start to go awry for the team, especially when you are the captain. However, Gallogly knows that this Meath team is going through a serious transition and that it may take some time for this set of players to reach the standards set by their predecessors.

“At the start of the year, you want to be getting to League finals, Leinster finals, All-Ireland finals, that is always the aim," insisted Gallogly.

"Everyone knows by now that we have had a big transition, with new players coming in and others leaving for various reasons. It has all been about trying to help those new players find their feet and learning from each game.

"There have been games that we feel we left behind us. The important thing is to take what we have learned and push on and see where it takes us from here.

“Every year, there will be new challenges in one way or another. There are so many new girls who have not played for Meath before and we have to allow them the time to develop as players and get them up to the standards that we want to be at. We have to be patient and encourage the girls so that we can continue playing at the very highest level.”

In her role as captain and one of the most experienced players in the group, Gallogly’s responsibilities include helping out some of the younger and newer players in the squad, particularly on tactics and the style of football that Meath wants to play.

“I suppose part of helping those new girls is advising them on tactics. Girls might not be used to the level of detail that goes into senior set-ups. If they are unsure of set-ups or a different way that we are playing they generally come to you and ask for advice. We do our best to direct them in the right way,” said Gallogly.

“I think it’s important to allow them to make mistakes and for them to understand that that is okay, that they can learn from them. Not every training session is going to be perfect but players can develop from their mistakes. All we can do as leaders is try to guide them, be there for them and help them out with any questions that they have.”

Gallogly praised Meath manager Wayne Freeman, but explained that it takes some time for the players to adapt to a new style of football that the relatively fresh management team want them to play.

“Wayne was fantastic last year when he was a coach and this year he has brought in a few new coaches. It takes time for the team to adapt to the way they want us to play. The management team have been brilliant and they put Meath to the forefront in every decision that they make. It is all about putting our trust in them, working hard on the pitch and seeing where that takes us.”

Over the last few years, Meath have reached their peak at this stage of the championship. Gallogly is hopeful that the extra edge to the All-Ireland series can help the Royals push on and deliver.

“The All-Ireland series is a completely different ball game and I think everyone will agree that it is very open this year which will give a lot of teams confidence. I think a big thing for us is what we can learn from the Leinster and League campaigns. The All-Ireland series has an extra edge and it brings out a bit more bite in everyone so hopefully we get that and we can use it to push on.”

Meath's group stage opponents in the All-Ireland series are Connacht winners Galway and Ulster runner-ups Tyrone. Gallogly has massive respect for both sides and said that the two games will be tough tests for the Royals.

“Galway are one of the favourites for the All-Ireland and rightly so. They got to the league final and obviously won Connacht as well. They are an unbelievable side and it will be a really tough test. You always want to be playing against the top teams and we will find out where we are when we play them,” said Gallogly.

“Tyrone are a team on the rise and will want to push on at this level. They will be a really tough team, any team at senior level are and there are no easy groups or anything like that.

"Tyrone will be very motivated. They will probably look at us, at what we have done over the last few years and take confidence from it themselves.”

Gallogly concluded by saying that success for Meath will be heavily dependent on the teams ability to deliver performances to a high level, executing plans and learning from mistakes.

"I suppose success for us will be driven by our performances. There have been days this year where we haven’t performed to the level that we wanted to. Success for us is based on learning from our mistakes and executing plans. It is up to us as players to put in a performance and wherever that gets us, so be it. We will review it on a game-by-game basis and hopefully that will be enough to get us far in the competition."

Meath’s first group game will be at home to Galway in Stamullen Sunday 7th June at 2pm. Two weeks later, they will travel to Tyrone for a season-defining clash.