Flanagan proves Westmeath’s Pied Piper

EIGHT weeks ago they had no manager and a number of their best players weren’t even on the panel but now Westmeath’s footballers stand just 70 minutes away from a first Leinster final appearance since 2004.

Pat Flanagan would appear to be the most obvious catalyst for such a dramatic change in fortunes as the upswing has coincided neatly with the Clara man’s short time in charge.

Appointed as interim manager in late April, Flanagan took over a team that had just lost all seven of its games in Division Two and which then rebelled successfully against Brendan Hackett.

Flanagan knew the scene in Westmeath well having enjoyed a successful period coaching Tyrrellspass and his introduction had an immediate effect with the disaffected duo of Dessie Dolan and Denis Glennon returning.

Though Flanagan had little time to prepare for the championship, word soon began to filter through that Westmeath were showing well in the challenge matches played between the fallow period after the league.

Wicklow selector Kevin O’Brien was noticeably impressed by the games he took in and his claims that Westmeath were playing like a team with nothing to lose were franked when they claimed his county’s scalp.

If there is praise to be handed around, however, Flanagan wants none of it.

“It’s like I have always said, these boys have put in a hell of an effort and long before I got involved. They are working extremely hard and there is a good buzz about the place.

“If games were won purely on effort then I don’t think there is any way they could be beaten any Sunday so we are going into the weekend’s game with a good attitude and a bit of confidence.”

Whatever Flanagan has been doing, its effect has been similar to the Pied Piper. Two-time All Star John Keane and fellow veteran defender Derek Heavin have also rejoined the group since the Wicklow win.

If there has been one down side of late it has been a growing injury list that threatens to leave him particularly stretched up front against Louth in Croke Park at the weekend.

Not even Flanagan’s restorative powers can do much about that but it will be the managerial feat of the year – and many others besides – if he can steer his charges to a provincial final.

What it would say for the standard of the game in Leinster were a side to do just that two months after a heave against its manager is another question entirely but not one that Flanagan will concern him with right now.

“Football is a funny game. It is amazing the way things have turned around and people have been buoyed by the win over Wicklow but we can’t look too far ahead. We have to focus on the job at hand against Louth.”

That would be the Louth team that scored an eye-catching one goal and 22 points earlier this month against a Kildare side that was expected to canter through its side of the draw and to a deciding clash with Dublin.

Sligo and Westmeath themselves provided further shocks that same weekend and, as Flanagan has pointed out, all three results were further proof that games are not won on paper.

“I was actually at Louth’s last league game against Offaly when they scored something like 5-13 (it was actually 5-9) so they are obviously a team that is very capable of racking up scores.

“We haven’t been doing badly in that sense ourselves. We managed 15 points against Wicklow the last day and if we keep up our work rate I would think we can do well again.”

What Flanagan failed to mention is that Offaly managed 3-10 of their own that day in Tullamore and they leaked another 1-16 against Kieran McGeeney’s men the last day in Navan.

Westmeath have found it just as difficult to guard their posts this last two years but many of the players playing on Sunday were on board back in 2008 when the county boasted one of the meanest defences in the game. Under Tomas O Flatharta that year the 2004 Leinster champions conceded an average of less than nine points per game during the league before coming up two points shy of Dublin and four of Tyrone in the summer.

Could we be witnessing an encore?

“It is difficult to answer that on the back of just one game. We did well against Wicklow. They got 1-11, so we could have done a bit better as well so maybe we can be a bit more stingy. We will need to up it against Louth.”