Mulroy: 'Who is over us doesn't really matter too much'

CHIP ON SHOULDER: Sam Mulroy talked about the players operating with a chip on their shoulders now as they seek to prove the doubters wrong. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Sam Mulroy has revealed his frustration that Louth, conquerors of Cork at the weekend, are continuously written off and expected to fail.

The 2023 Leinster finalists beat Cork in Ardee for the second season running following a gutsy one-point away defeat to Armagh in Round 1.

Captain and full-forward Mulroy, who struck 0-5 against Cork, said he couldn't understand why they were written off before both games.

Part of it was probably down to losing legendary manager Mickey Harte in the closed season but Mulroy says it's always been about the players - not the management.

And he talked about the players operating with a chip on their shoulders now as they seek to prove the doubters wrong.

"I think that's probably always been the case with 'poor old Louth'," said Mulroy, eyeing those who keep writing Louth off. "But I think this group has stood up to that a little bit over the last number of years and moved in the right direction.

"It's funny, people were saying to me that the odds were for Armagh to beat us by eight or nine points. You're kind of going, 'Hold on here a second'. It was the same coming to play Cork, you were expected to get beaten by three or four points. It's like, yeah, I do think you do have to have a little chip on your shoulder at times. I'm not saying they should go ahead and make us favourites or anything for the next game but yeah, there is a little bit of that there at times."

Former Dublin star Ger Brennan stepped into Harte's shoes and is making solid progress.

There may even be a first piece of silverware on Thursday evening as Louth are scheduled to face Wicklow in the O'Byrne Shield final in Blessington (8pm).

The positive start to 2024 may have surprised those who expected them to struggle without Harte who pulled Louth up through the grades.

"I've said it numerous times over the last few weeks - this is our team, this is Louth," said Mulroy. "Who is over us doesn't really matter too much. They come in, they do a job, we respect them, they respect us.

"I think this Louth group over the last number of years has been absolutely massive. The character they've built, the games they've pulled out of the bag, players stepping up when they're needed to step up. I couldn't be prouder of them.

"Mickey was here a couple of years ago, he was here and he's gone. He's left. Ger is in now. He's doing a job, we love him, we love the management team but at the end of the day we cross the white line. I think we've put in a serious shift over the last number of years and we'll continue to do that."

Brennan has convinced former goalkeeper Craig Lynch to return to the panel and the Naomh Mairtin man was on the bench against Cork.

Lynch missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons though isn't guaranteed an immediate return to the team. Niall McDonnell made his league debut against Armagh and hasn't conceded a goal so far. McDonnell pulled off several important saves against Cork too.

"I grabbed him after the match and said, 'That's all on you, you pulled out some massive saves when we needed them'," said skipper Mulroy. "I thought he was absolutely exceptional."

Louth will face neighbours Meath in Navan on Sunday week in Round 3 of the league.

"With the top-16 teams, it's dog eat dog at times," said Mulroy. "Every point is absolutely massive, every kick of the ball is massive, every turnover is massive. But it's where you want to be. We're learning as we go. The team is growing and growing and the lads are getting serious experience playing against excellent sides like Cork and Armagh. What a place to be."