Greville aiming for more consistency

In his post-match interview after the loss to Down last week, Meath manager Johnny Greville said that his aim this year was to win every competition his side entered, but those ambitions fell at the first hurdle following Sunday's narrow loss to Wicklow in the Kehoe Cup.

After the match, the Westmeath native admitted that he was disappointed with his side’s second-half showing.

Greville pointed out that in contrast, their second-half performance against Down last week was much better and he called upon his players to learn from mistakes from last year by being more consistent in their performances.

“Every competition we are in we want to win so it’s disappointing that we didn’t get over the line today. Our shot ratio and score ratio was poor today," admitted the Meath manager.

"The London game is our ultimate focus. Going in to that game next week, the two games that we have had will really stand to us and we have learned an awful lot about ourselves.

"We had a much poorer performance in the second half than we did last week but we still got close today. Not playing well and still being there or thereabouts is a sign of good character in a team but we can't afford to take our foot of the pedal and our performance levels have to be through the roof consistently.

“Consistency is key. We will have to be able to perform to a high standard and then follow it up with another good performance rather than looking for a reaction to a poor showing. That was certainly the learnings for us as a management team from last year. For the players, it's just about being consistent on the pitch every single day they go out.”

Greville had high praise for Darren O’Higgins in particular who was a constant thorn in the side of the Wicklow defenders. He also praised the likes of Seanie Geraghty, who returned to action on Sunday, and Damien Healy for bringing on the younger players such as O’Higgins and Rory Fagan.

“The opposition will want to get to know Darren O’Higgins a bit more. He was brilliant in the second-half there and he is such an honest talent. He had a dead leg at half-time but he was determined to get through it. He is such a great prospect," beamed the manager.

"It was great to see Seanie Geraghty back today. It’s great to see himself and the likes of Damien Healy bring on the young lads like Darren and Rory Fagan as well who had a fantastic club championship with Na Fianna. The game is changing and it’s going more direct. We have a good mix of players which suits us.”

Greville said that there was no lack of motivation within the team ahead of their contest with Wicklow on Sunday and that London next week in the opening round of the league will be no different. The Meath manager is hoping his side will be ready for whatever the Exiles throw at them next Saturday.

“Wicklow turned us over last year and we will meet them again in Aughrim later on in the Championship. There was no lack of hunger for this game today as a standalone fixture. London will be no different. It will be a difficult task for them this year overall with them playing in the Joe McDonagh. I suppose we won’t know a lot about them really until they take to the field. We have to guard against that. We have to get our performance levels this week to a point where whatever London throw at us, we will be able to put our best foot forward,” said Greville.

“The lads know they have to show up next week. It is a young team and new squad. We are trying to develop and bring them forward in the right direction. Their first big test is this week and we have to bring our performance to the next level and really gel. We want to put a complete performance together against London.”

Gavin King and Philip O’Brien are both vying for the number one spot between the sticks at the moment. Greville has been impressed by both so far in the two Kehoe Cup games and in preseason training.

“Gavin (King) is super. He plays outfield for his club (Na Fianna, Dublin) and when we asked him to come in and be part of this he was more than willing. The proof is in the pudding there. The goalkeeper position is evolving and it has nearly become like a quarter-back. Like the football, hurling will eventually end up going that way as well I think and he has all the attributes. Same with Philly (O’Brien), he has put the shoulder to the wheel since we came back and is really top-notch. It's still very much 50/50 as to who will start next Saturday.”

Greville confirmed that Kyle Donnelly and Shane Whitty are on the physio table at the moment but did say that overall the squad health was good. He also confirmed the return of Podge O’Hanrahan and Sean Coloe.

“Kyle Donnelly and Shane Whitty have knocks at the moment. Apart from that, the squad health is in good nick at the moment. We have a few lads coming back. We hope to get Podge O’Hanrahan game time in the league and build him back up. He is putting his shoulder to the wheel again which is brilliant. Sean Coloe is on his way back as well. The key thing for us over the two games was to manage the injuries and spread the workload. We used eight subs today and the same against Down the last day,” concluded Greville whose focus now turns to facing London in NHL Div 2 next Saturday in Trim.