Revenge is not our motivation, says Lennon

LAST year’s Leinster final has been consigned to the past for Louth as they count down to Saturday’s rematch with neighbours Meath, insists forward Shane Lennon. However, the Kilkerley Emmets man believes the Royals have just as much motivation as his team to win in Breffni Park after last July’s debacle in Croke Park.

According to Lennon, Meath will want to answer critics within their own county who questioned the validity of their victory last year.

“It’s going to be a big thing for them too,” he maintained. “A lot of people probably doubted them in their county after last year so they’ll be out to prove a point that they were deserving champions.

“The way we’re looking at it is it’s 2011. The 2010 season is over and we have moved on. Revenge or thinking you deserved to win isn’t going to cut it in championship football. If we think like that we’ll be hitting the road out of Cavan very quickly on Saturday, especially against Meath.

“You can’t be looking for revenge or sympathy. You have to go out there to do a job.”

After Martin Sludden’s glaring mistake in last year’s meeting, the onus will be on referee Maurice Deegan in Cavan. Lennon welcomed his appointment but couldn’t understand why so much focus was centred on the identity of the match official.

“He’s a good ref but it doesn’t make a difference. There was so much speculation in the newspapers about who would get the game but it doesn’t matter. Anyone who gets the game will perform to the best of his ability.

“He’ll make mistakes but the thing is you’re going to make more mistakes than the referee.”

Naturally, Lennon, who works as a GAA development officer in Louth, was disappointed his county couldn’t take advantage of the home draw they got because they have no suitable venue. But he isn’t overly worried.

“We played there a few times the last few years, we played Donegal there in the league final a couple of years ago and the replay at that. We played Cavan there in the league as well so we know it fairly well.

“It doesn’t matter where the field is, the crowds will come to it.”

Lennon says Louth have to treat the game like a Leinster championship game before the qualifiers when there was no safety net.

“We have to think of it as the old system, and it’s knock-out championship from now on. It could be the first round of the old Leinster championship, that’s the way we have to look at it.”

The first round draw, which was made just after Carlow shocked Louth in Portlaoise, was the perfect tonic for Peter Fitzpatrick’s men after they had such high hopes of reaching the Leinster final for the second year running.

Lennon likened the defeat to the one they inflicted on fancied Kildare in last year’s campaign.

“We were probably better prepared this year than we were in years past. We felt we were in a good position to make a run in Leinster but the way things happened on the day Carlow got a run on us in the first-half and we struggled.

“You can’t blame the sending off either. We came out strong in the second-half after it. We were too lackadaisical in the first-half and it just wasn’t good enough.

Lennon believes John O’Brien’s return, who has now been deemed eligible to play for Louth after emigrating, will help to shore up the defence but he knows the Louth attack aren’t without fault either.

“John coming back is a big plus. He’s one of the best defenders in the country and it’s great to have him back. Hopefully, he’ll tighten up the ship at the back.

“But then we only scored 13 points the other day and that’s not good enough, simple as that. It’s part of the game we have to improve on for next Saturday.”