Wexford want to do talking on the pitch

WEXFORD footballers have decided to circle the wagons and refuse media interviews as they look to secure Division One status for the first time on Sunday against Carlow - one year after stumbling at the final hurdle against the same opponents.

Exactly 12 months ago, the Model County were basking in the limelight of a national media eager to feed the story of how this Cinderella football county was finally making it to the ball.

Needing one win from their last two games against Meath and Carlow, Ger Halligan’s side emerged empty-handed after an unlucky one-point defeat in Navan and a subsequent display in Carlow that suggested the team had been blinded by the spotlight so suddenly thrust upon them. Intercepted passes, stray kicks over the sideline and a visible lack of appetite summed up a wretched five-point defeat.

A year down the road and they have learned their lesson. Even the most media-friendly of their players are keeping mum, mumbling apologies as they shy away from interviews. Once bitten, twice shy.

Manager Dom Twomey has no such concerns, however. The Dubliner took over the reigns only this year and although he accepts the fact his players were badly burned last year, he prefers to look at the assignment with colder eyes.

Wexford may only lie third behind second-placed Longford on points difference, but with Dennis Connerton’s men playing Derry - a point ahead of the pair - Wexford know that a win guarantees them promotion.

“We know that win and we’re up,” the former Dublin selector said. “We also know that Carlow are in the middle of some serious preparations for the championship and they’ll have a lot of players still looking to make an impression on their management.

“When you add in the fact that they’re near-neighbours and all that and what happened last year there’ll certainly be no mercy from them..

“Last year Wexford played them down there in Carlow and that was only six days after the Meath game and this time there’s been that bit more time for preparation.”

Indeed, the two-week break since their last competitive action, when they lost by 11 points in Derry, will have been more than welcome. Until then, progress had been seamless with five wins from five attempts.

“Up in Derry, it was a case of a bad day at the office,” Twomey claims. “We’ve had five good days and one bad day.

“Division 2B is very competitive this year and we certainly don’t want our efforts so far go to waste at this stage. We’ve won four points out of six away from home, beating our main rivals Longford and Clare on the road.”

That Clare result virtually guaranteed Wexford the low-key build-up to Carlow on Sunday, but as their manager points out, it won’t always be that way if they can finally cash in their undoubted potential for the hard-earned currency of achievement.

“There is a lot less media interest in Wexford this year certainly. I suppose we’re helped by the fact that there’s still so many crucial last day meetings. At the same time, the whole media thing is part of it and lads need to get used to it if Wexford are going to do anything in the coming years.

“A lot of teams have been going up and down the divisions but Division One certainly brings you on a level and Wexford have already come on a huge amount in the last two years. To get promotion now would be a huge boost. It’s all about belief and that would certainly give our lads some.”