Westmeath must accept their role as favourites

WESTMEATH must come to terms with the favourites’ tag for their Leinster semi-final tomorrow if they are to finally leave behind the perennial bridesmaids’ tag, according to selector Jack Cooney.

It’s not the scenario the county could have envisaged three months ago when they were faced with relegation to Division Two of the NFL, but with the scalps of Offaly and Dublin under their belts since, it’s one they must deal with.

“The favourites tag might make a difference alright but, with all the so-called weaker counties, there will always come a time when they have to show the ambition and stand up and accept that tag and the pressures that come with it.”

That said, Cooney isn’t all that convinced that Westmeath are deserving of the shorter odds.

There’s no doubt but that Páid Ó Sé’s team impressed far more than Pat Roe’s in their quarter-final successes over Dublin and Kildare respectively, but Cooney prefers to look at the bigger picture.

“It could be an even bet, to be honest. Wexford are going into this game with a lot better run of form than we are if you take 2004 as a whole into the equation. Their league campaign was far better than ours.

“So far, we’ve played Offaly when they were favourites and Dublin when they had an off day so on that logic you could say we’ve caused one and a half shocks, if you like.

“I felt we had a fair bit of luck against Dublin the last day. We made some switches that wouldn’t have worked maybe on another day and sometimes that’s all that makes the difference between winning and losing.

“They put us under some fierce pressure late on in that game and we were just fortunate to come up with the three points towards the end. Some of the scores we kicked wouldn’t have gone over on other days, either.”

Cooney’s talk is undoubtedly an attempt to play down the levels of expectation surrounding Westmeath after their last two victories. There is also the suspicion that Wexford, without a championship win in four years prior to last month, finally have a real shot at winning a trophy. All that brings its own pressures to the occasion.

“In a week like this you just try and keep it simple,” Cooney explained. “You keep to a routine as much as possible and try not to get too involved with anything else that might crop up. Once you have a routine that the lads are happy with, whether that’s a certain type of training during the week, or the bus journey up on Sunday, you find that, you stick with it.

“Any championship match, whether it’s your first or your 31st,will always bring nerves with it. That’s inevitable, and in Croke Park it’ll be that bit more. It’s an odd pairing for the Leinster semi-final and a fantastic opportunity for both teams to get somewhere they haven’t been for a long time, a Leinster final.

“A lot will depend on the weather and the nerves will probably show for the first part of the match, maybe 15 or 20 minutes, and after that I’d expect it to settle down.

“What stood out for me when I watched the video of Wexford’s game with Kildare was the tremendous unity they showed. Everyone worked together, everyone put their shoulder to the wheel. Pat Roe has done a tremendous job there.”