‘This is going to be a long road’ as Meath pursue progress

WE COULD all be six foot under before Meath has a successful senior football team again.

Following the defeat by Donegal in the final round of the Allianz FL Division 2 campaign in Ballybofey last Saturday night, manager Colm O’Rourke suggested that it may not happen in his time as manager and it could be 2026 or 2027 before the county is competitive again.

“This is going to be a long road. We took a decision last year that we were going to go with a very young panel. There is no major immediate improvement, it is going to take time.

“The core of our players are in their early 20s. Looking at our club scene we are picking from a scene where our senior championship was very poor – Summerhill were the standout team.

“The intermediate championship had a very good final, but I was at a huge amount of matches last year and the standard of club football in Meath is not good. Our senior teams do not compare with anything like in Dublin.

“We have looked at all the regional teams and the U20s, it’s not as if we have a vast array of talent.

“What we have is a very good group of players coming up who have got into an underage system in the last three or four years and they have definitely good habits. They are very, very committed and disciplined, they are going to be the team of the future.

“It is going to take two years, but when I was asked to do the job I was told that it was going to take time and that it may not happen in my time as manager, but one thing I’d be very sure of is that within two years, there is going to be a group of players who will be very competitive with any team in the country by the time of the league in 2026 or 2027.

“The window of opportunity will be open then for two or three years and I think Meath will be capable of playing any of the top teams, but I’m asking people to be patient.

“We are working with the players on a project that is probably going to take five years. Whether I’m involved when they become successful doesn’t matter to me, I’m going to play my part in building a team.

“I don’t intend to see out Seán Boylan’s type of reign, but this is a fantastic group of players. They are very grounded, very dedicated, they love the idea of playing for Meath and I’m very impressed with them as a young group of players. Because of that great attitude, they will be successful in time.

“This group of players won’t change too much over the next three years, we have developed a hard core of around 20 players, whereas before there was rapid turnover last year and this year, but I don’t see much of a turnover happening in the next couple of years. That continuity is going to bring more improvement.

“Club football goes in cycles. We have a lot of very competitive championships, but the level is not very high.

“We only have to look at the fact that a Meath team hasn’t won the Leinster club championship in 22 years and we haven’t won an U20 or U21 since 2003 or 2004.

“We are coming from a scene where Meath have been very uncompetitive at both club and U21 or U20 as it is now. Those are the real areas where players progress from on to the senior teams. Not the minors, they’re too young. The basic club scene and U20 scene has not been healthy, but we are going to change that.”

On a more positive note, O’Rourke said he was much happier with performances in the league this year compared to 2023.

“I think we played better in this year’s league. Last year we didn’t play well in a lot of games and we were a bit fortunate to get early points and survive. This year there was a different vibe amongst the lads, there is a great confidence and a greater maturity and they all see there is progress being made.

“I’d say the league was a qualified success for us. The big thing is that we are going to be in this division next year. The first-half of the Cavan game would certainly be one of the best displays. The last 20 minutes of the Louth game, if you took away the near calamity at the end, there were signs that we are definitely making progress.

“We did operate with a very long injury list, but we are starting to get those lads back and within a few weeks we will have them available.”