Westmeath boss Fortune ready to ship league hidings for long-term gain

Westmeath manager Joe Fortune, whose side were hammered 31 points by Galway at the weekend, now face All-Ireland champions Limerick on Sunday.

Westmeath manager Joe Fortune speaks to his team after the win over Wexford last year

Westmeath manager Joe Fortune, whose side were hammered 31 points by Galway at the weekend, know they could face another chastening experience when All-Ireland champions Limerick come to Mullingar on Sunday.

But Fortune, who guided Dublin to Leinster minor and U-21 crowns as well as a county title for Ballyboden St Enda’s, says the restructure to the league with no relegation this season is allowing them to experiment.

He lined out against Galway with just six of the players who started in the shock 4-18 to 2-22 Leinster championship win over his native Wexford last year as he tries to build a side which will bid for the Joe McDonagh and get them back into the race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup after making the drop last year despite the seismic win over Wexford.

“It was a similar scoreline last year in the league and championship against Galway. We have a lot of lads in rehab at the moment and we need to have them right for the right time. But also, we need to see which of the young lads have the stomach for it.

“The longer a team is down in the Joe McDonagh or whatever grade, the tougher it is to get back up. We had a massive year last year where we beat Wexford for the first time in over 80 years since the Second World War, but then we couldn’t close it out the week after and we lost our status.

“I kept playing the same team last year and then when it came to critical injuries like Niall Mitchell and Killian Doyle we were left short because we hadn’t blooded the young lads in,” said Fortune.

Westmeath kept in touch with Galway for most of the opening half last weekend playing against the wind but Henry Shefflin’s men, while also fielding an understrength side, just pulled away and the 4-31 to 0-12 loss would have been even greater was it not for their outstanding goalkeeper Noel Conaty.

“These sort of days will happen when we are trying to blood these young players,” added Fortune. “The easiest thing for me is to put Tommy Doyle and Killian Doyle in against the likes of Galway, but we have got to give lads a chance and see how they fare.

“Each manager has a different target. Henry Shefflin’s target is to win the league, or the Leinster title or the All-Ireland title. My aim is to be right for those last two league games and to realistically go and get back up into the Liam MacCarthy this year and to that we need to blood players and strengthen the panel.

“We know the next few weeks are going to be tough with Limerick next and then Tipperary after. But also my goal at the end of the year has to be ready for championship."

“The elite are going to be in 1A. Our aim is to make sure Westmeath don’t drop below that 1B grade. We have about nine or ten to bring back in to our starting team, which is huge for Westmeath. You look at Henry Shefflin bringing in Conor Whelan and we are bringing on 19-year old David O’Reilly for his debut. And David did very well, shot a couple of great points. The likes of Michael Daly, Conor Gaffney and David Williams are also new to this level.” 

Fortune believes that these games against the big guns, regardless of the final score lines, will help Westmeath develop and reach their own targets.

“The big thing Westmeath need to do is back this group. It’s going to be tough the next few weeks. They are not going to go easy on us, but I don’t want them to either. I don’t want token gestures. But it is hard when you are standing there after 65 or 70 minutes and those guys are 20 or 25 points ahead, because I know the effort our lads are putting in. But that’s sport and what we need to keep sight of is our own goals and we know what they are.

Progress has been made in the past few years, coming up from Division 2, staying in the Liam McCarthy initially, taking a big scalp last year. But I keep telling them what’s needed is consistency. The big job now is to consolidate Division 1 and go into the Joe McDonagh and perform there and get back up.”