Kenny not complaining about six-day turnaround

Injured Meath captain Seamus Kenny says the county just have to accept they only have six days to recover from losing Sunday’s Leinster final and ready themselves for Laois.

The Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) yesterday fixed all four All-Ireland SFC qualifiers for next Saturday, meaning both Meath and Down have the daunting prospect of overcoming the six-day turnaround.

Kenny, who is ruled out with a cruciate injury after an injury against Wicklow in May, appreciates the major difficulty facing his county is psychological.

The Meath panel met last night for a light training session where they discussed their three-point defeat to Dublin.

After Seamus McEnaney pleaded for a seven-day hiatus, the Simonstown Gaels man admitted it was a slight blow but only that.

“Either way, these couple of days were going to be about getting over the disappointment and refocusing on next weekend.

“We would have liked the extra day but we can’t complain. It’s the first time that we’ve had the six-day turnaround and while it’s not ideal we just have to get on with it.

“Losing a Leinster final is tough to take and you’d like a few more days to lick the wounds but we know there’s going to be a comedown and we have to be right for that.

“There were almost 70,000 people in Croke Park on Sunday and there might not even be 10,000 in Tullamore next Saturday. But we know the prize that is up for grabs. We’re only one step away from an All-Ireland quarter-final.”

Kerry chairman Patrick O’Sullivan believes Meath as well as the other three provincial runners-up including his own county’s opponents Clare next Saturday should be awarded home advantage.

Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds has been set as the venue for their backdoor game but O’Sullivan believes it should be played in Ennis’s Cusack Park.

“If a team gets to a provincial final there should be a fallback of home advantage should they lose in it,” he said. “It would incentivise the provincial championships further and take something away from the six day turnaround.

“Say Kerry got beaten in the Munster final — at least they’d know their next game will be at home and they don’t have to travel the country.

“Clare don’t have a long trip next Saturday but they should be given home advantage for making the final against Cork.”

Kenny agrees with O’Sullivan’s point but won’t be making any excuses for Meath next Saturday.

“For now, nothing can be done about it and there’s little point giving out about it but it’s something that can be looked at.”

Kenny expects their game against Laois to be extremely tight even if Tullamore has been a happy hunting ground for them of late.

“We played Carlow there twice and would have played Laois there before as well. We’ve done well there but it’s a neutral venue that’s of no advantage to either team over the other.”