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Gallagher getting used to the grind

Taking his place between the Meath posts tomorrow, David Gallagher knows he’s taking a risk.

When he accepted Seamus McEnaney’s invitation to join the panel after turning him down last season, he knew the consequences. To put it bluntly, his livelihood as a plumber could be compromised. A bulged disc he picked up in 2005 has never healed right.

It was partly the reason why he stepped aside from the inter-county game in 2009 and now again it threatens to make life difficult for him.

“I got another MRI a few weeks ago because it’s been six or seven years since I got the first one. So it was just to see if there was anything and it showed a very bad bulged disc again.

“So that’s the risk but thankfully with Gerry [Nolan] the physio and the lads just sending me to where I have to go.

“Work has suffered this year a couple of times. To be honest that’s the bread and butter and when work is beginning to suffer unfortunately that’s the ethos of the amateur game. If you can’t go to work then that’s a bigger problem.”

The 32-year-old’s decision to give it “one more thrash” as he puts it backfired in the league with demotion to Division 3. But it was always about championship for him, even if his blunder the first day against Carlow contributed to there being a second day.

“The knives were out as to why they had brought this fella back but I know deep down how good I am.”

Ideally, Gallagher would prefer to be playing full-back where he lines out for his club St Peter’s, Dunboyne but a Gilmore’s groin injury put paid to any hopes of an inter-county career beyond the sticks.

This time last year, he watched Kildare beat Meath at home without the slightest consideration about renewing his inter-county goalkeeping career.

“It wasn’t in my head and if I was blatantly honest I probably didn’t think it was going to happen. I probably felt that there was a couple of years that I left behind.

“In further years I might have said maybe I should have tried to get back to do this. If I’m honest I miss playing football for he club, I miss the outfield stuff.

“I’m probably not good enough to play outfield for the county but I do still miss that this year.”

Such are the sacrifices and his priorities have changed. He doesn’t accentuate the positives about Meath this year so much as he champions them. Despite relegation, only four goals were conceded in Division 2s seven games, he points out.

In the wake of relegation, it was Gallagher who rallied the troops and convinced them that they could change their season with a single victory.

“As I kept saying afterwards it just going to take one win to turn this around. And thankfully it did.

“We played well against Wicklow, we didn’t play well against Carlow in the first game. In hindsight that draw was the best thing that happened us because we went out the next day and showed what we can do. We put up a big score.”

He knows Kildare had a major say in how Meath fell from grace earlier this year when they beat them in Navan. Likewise, there is motivation to gain from the two championship defeats last year.

“I think Meath were unlucky in both games. I certainly thought Graham [Geraghty]’s goal [in the first game] should have stood and if it did who knows what would have happened.”

Gallagher expects Meath to play with abandon tomorrow. As the underdogs, he feels they can express themselves more against Kildare.

“We have nothing to lose. We played well against Carlow. That’s our last game, that’s as good as we can go by. You’re only as good as your last kick. We have loads of confidence after playing that game. They are a bit further on. The stats don’t lie.

“We have great honesty within the group. We have what is as good as what is around if we can get it together.” Home

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