No going back for O’Brien’s Royals

EAMONN O’BRIEN doesn’t like looking back. So, when he took over the management of the Meath footballers from Colm Coyle last winter he wasn’t too preoccupied with what had happened over the course of a campaign which had ended with a humiliating defeat to Limerick in a first-round qualifier game.

Of course he couldn’t exactly airbrush the memory of that game, or the consequence of the Royals’ shock exit at the hands of Wexford in the Leinster semi-final, but that when it came to meeting up with the squad of players later on there was never any question of carrying out any post mortem.

“We didn’t talk much. I don’t believe in looking back, I always look forward,’’ he said. “I can’t say we spent a lot of time talking about 2008. That was a different time. It was in the past and we started to look forward to this year.’’

O’Brien has history in the context of inter-county management, having previously worked with Sean Boylan as a selector and being associated with their last two All-Ireland winning teams (in 1996 against Mayo and three years later against Cork). And working with him is Donal Curtis, wing-forward on the ‘99 team and Robbie O’Malley, a member of the winning 1987/88 teams and who captained Ireland in the 1990 International Rules series in Australia.

Against the background of what happened last year (or what didn’t happen, seeing as their single victory was against Carlow in the opening round of the Leinster championship) he agrees that he took over at a difficult time. Yet, while Darren Fay and Graham Geraghty had retired (leaving midfielder Nigel Crawford as the only one with an All-Ireland medal), he points out that the squad hasn’t changed substantially from 2007.

“When you get involved with a team at this level you take to it as an optimist, because you’re looking forward to the future,’’ he added. “I think managers generally are optimistic and they see the positives in players. And that was what I was looking at because of the fact that the previous year the same lads had got as far as the All-Ireland semi-final (against Cork) So, they didn’t go from being quite good to where they were last year. I thought the opportunity was there for those lads to bounce back.’’

The team which takes the field this evening against Limerick includes eight players who lined out against Cork two years ago. There have been two changes in goal in the interim period, with Brendan Murphy being replaced for a while by David Gallagher and the position now being filled by Paddy O’Rourke from Skryne who was sub keeper last year. Notably, defender Kevin O’Reilly and forward Shane O’Rourke (Colm’s son) are both ruled out by injury.

“We are a team in transition, a work in progress,’’ said O’Brien. “We are just taking every game as it comes, hoping to make as big an impact as we can.’’

Quoted as saying his team was guilty of some sloppy play in the second half of the Roscommon game, he says they lost a great opportunity of ending Dublin’s reign in Leinster when they met in Croke Park on the first Sunday in June (losing 0-12 to 0-10). Pat Gilroy made it clear afterwards he wasn’t satisfied with aspects of his team’s play and certainly O’Brien wasn’t satisfied with his team’s display.

“I was disappointed with the way we played. From my point of view the disappointing thing was the game was in the melting pot in the last 10 or 15 minutes. But we just couldn’t step up a gear. We didn’t play well, but the game was there to be won near the end.’’

Following consecutive wins over Waterford (15 points), Westmeath (10) and Roscommon (7) over a four-week period, the Meath boss recognises that his team faces its biggest challenge since the Dublin game.

“We are stepping up to a different level. If Limerick play like they did against Cork they could be one of the top teams in the country.”

The Munster final was played on June 5, the same weekend that Meath played Waterford in the opening round of the qualifiers.

The feeling would be that they will have an advantage in match fitness, but O’Brien isn’t so sure — pointing out that unlike the majority of losing provincial finalists, the Shannonsiders didn’t have to face into the qualifiers six days later.

“Maybe the rest might be good for them, as well giving them an opportunity to refocus,’’ he said. “We won’t know until the game starts."