Offaly’s focus now on Westmeath

CIARAN McMANUS is desperate to avoid a repeat of six years ago, when league success for Offaly was soured a few short weeks later by a premature and traumatic Leinster SFC exit.

The Faithful’s only Division One title came under current Dublin manager Tommy Lyons in 1998, and with a provincial title under their belts from the previous year, great things were expected.

However, a matter of weeks after their NFL triumph, they were bundled out of the championship by Meath, 3-10 to 0-7, in a Leinster quarter-final. With Westmeath in the championship less than three weeks away, the Tubber midfielder insists the focus must not waver.