‘Louth need to lift it for Royal appointment’ – O’Connor

IT’S only when standing next to Louth’s Eoin O’Connor that his towering presence becomes clear.

Well north of 6ft, the Naomh Pádraig powerhouse was the Wee county’s go-to man in Sunday’s five-point defeat of Wicklow, bagging 1-2 between full-forward and midfield as they booked their quarter-final date with old rivals Meath on June 4.

With back-to-back promotions, and Division 2 football waiting in 2018, there’s something special brewing in Louth under Colin Kelly with a camaraderie similar to a club side and O’Connor feels they’re no longer a one-man team.

“We’re not like we might have been in previous years with star names like Shane Lennon and Paddy Keenan. It’s something that’s great to be part of to be honest. There’s 30 boys up training, it’s almost like something you’d see in a club set-up,” O’Connor said.

“I’ve never been so close to lads, we’re all good friends. I got in during the year because Jim McEneaney got injured and like that, boys are just waiting for someone to slip up and get in. A lot of boys know that if they keep at it they will get their chance.

“This year everyone knows if you do work hard enough you will get your chance. A lot of us weren’t good enough today and if there was a few changes for the next day we’d have to face it like the boys, that’s the way it goes.”

O’Connor smiles at the prospect of their Royal appointment, again in Parnell Park, but improvement is needed. “It’s always good to play Meath. They’ve got the go on us a couple of times recently but we’re definitely capable,” he said.

“We’ll have to be a lot more tuned in, we’ve a lot of work to do.

“No one really played well enough to get their name on the team sheet the next day so we’ll get stuck in for the next two weeks.”