Westmeath eye revival after narrow league losses and key player departures

Westmeath were relegated to Division 3 after picking up just a single point but their campaign was not without decent performances. 

Westmeath captain Ronan Wallace said it was "hard" to take initially when the retirement announcements and news of those stepping away from the panel started rolling in. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Westmeath captain Ronan Wallace is banking on a shift in fortunes for arguably the unluckiest team in the National League.

The Lake County were relegated from Division 2 after a series of positive performances but narrow defeats, losing to Down and Cork by a point, to Louth by two points and Meath by three after a controversial late goal concession.

Westmeath also lost to Cavan by four points and drew with Roscommon. Eventual Division 2 champions Monaghan were the only team to comfortably beat Dermot McCabe's crew, winning their Round 2 encounter by eight.

Westmeath will begin their Leinster championship campaign on Saturday evening against Kildare at the redeveloped Cedral St Conleth's Park.

"We couldn't buy a win this year unfortunately but we competed well," said experienced defender Wallace, who has yet to win a game under new manager McCabe. 

"It's just probably we didn't put in a full 70-minute performance. That's inter-county football too - some days they go for you, some days they don't. It was nice to get the draw against Roscommon in our last game at least, finally a bit of luck.

"Obviously there's the disappointment after each of those games but once you reflect, once you look at how well you performed in certain aspects, it definitely bodes well for going into the Championship."

Cavan legend McCabe has had to plug a number of significant gaps in his inherited panel following a series of close season retirements.

Last year's captain Kevin Maguire and key defender James Dolan quit after the Championship while attacker John Heslin announced his retirement in January. David Lynch and Andy McCormack both emigrated too, leaving the panel shy on experience.

"It's hard at the start when all the announcements are coming," said Wallace, a Tailteann Cup winner in 2022.

"Lads are saying that they're stepping away for retirement and travel. You can't hold it against them, they have to live their own lives as well.

"Obviously it's disappointing but it's just up to management to point us towards where we can go. And I think there was a buy-in from lads, it took maybe a few weeks for lads to get their heads around the new setup, new players, but we've all definitely put the shoulder to the wheel under the new management.

"We probably lost seven, eight or nine lads in all from last year's panel. It's been a step up for the younger lads who probably hadn't been exposed to that sort of inter-county level.

"It takes time but they've definitely shown the quality is there, that they can perform at the high level. Playing against Division 2 opposition where everyone can beat everyone, it was so close in those games. That will stand to them going forward."