A lot more to come from this Wexford team, says Roe
Never mind that his side are top of NFL Division 1B after five games, or that they’re the top scorers in either of the top divisions ahead of this weekend’s crucial clash at home to Down.
To the casual observer, Wexford’s rate of improvement in the past few years has been achieved at an almost supersonic rate, but their demanding manager is adamant that we are still only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
“There’s a lot more in these players. A lot more,” said the former Carlow manager yesterday.
“We have only opened the door so far as to what these lads can contribute on the field. I’m definite about that.
“With enough self-belief these lads can reach every bit of their potential and it’s my job to make sure they do that.”
‘Character’ and ‘belief; are two words that litter any conversation with Roe on football.
Maybe those are mere buzzwords for some, but for this former Laois dual player they are the cornerstones to everything he is striving to build in the south-east.
Their stay in Division One has already been stamped and approved for another 12 months, but it’s the manner of their wins as much as the points themselves that have really caught the eye.
Against Kildare and particularly Armagh Wexford pulled results out of the bag with the odds against them at half-time. Roe takes the point but again this teacher’s analytical mind turns your attention to the ‘must do better’ column.
“There’re two sides to it. You have to examine the manner in which we put ourselves into those positions in the first place. Against Armagh in particular, we ended up six points down at half time having conceded far too much territorial advantage, but the plus point is that the lads showed the character to retrieve those situations.”
Significantly, the team shows real signs of emerging from the shadows of Mattie Forde. John Hudson and Diarmuid Kinsella have taken up some of the burden for keeping the scoreboard ticking over and guys like John Cooper, Niall Murphy and Shane Cullen have been tightening things up at the back.
The true proof of the pudding will only become apparent when the championship swings around this summer. Last year, a torturously slow start against Westmeath in the semi hamstrung their attempt to reach the provincial decider inside the first quarter.
Their second successive spring, jostling the big boys has been the perfect preparation to ensure such a chance doesn’t slip easily from their grasp if it presents itself again this year.
“Our experience in Division One last year has been a huge factor,” Roe accepts. “The players knew what to expect at the start of the this season. They realise more than ever that the gap between success and failure is so small and the self-belief is much greater than even 12 months ago.
“There’s no guarantee what can happen any given Sunday though. We’re certainly working hard to ensure that what happened against Westmeath doesn’t happen again. Any time we lost last year it was our own fault, it was purely because we let games get away from us. We can’t let that happen again this year.”
