Countdown begins to the National Football Lge
LOUTH manager Wayne Kierans was relieved to report a full bill of health when providing an injury update on his squad in Darver on Friday night.
Despite doubts surrounding key forwards such as Ryan Burns and Sam Mulroy, they now look to be in contention for selection ahead of the trip to Longford this Sunday.
‘It is very positive,’ Kierans revealed. ‘We’ve a lot of lads back on the pitch now a couple of weeks. They’ll be available for the game - it is just a question on the work they have done and whether they will be match-fit and ready to contribute for the Longford game.
‘We are all ready, we put in a lot of work; it is going to be really tough, but we’re ready to put in good performances and try and build on last year.’
With that bulk of work comes expectation and Kierans was quick not to pigeon-hole his side into any slot, be it relegation or promotion. Instead Kierans is opting for short-term goals of a realistic nature in what he feels will be a tough campaign.
‘It’s a cut-throat division, it really is,’ he admits.
‘Your goals are moving week to week really. All our goals at the minute are to make sure we are ready for the first game and indeed you have to be ready for the first three games, because they are 1-2-3 off the bat. After that we’ll be able to realign our objectives and our goals and see where we’re at.
‘It’s a milestone game, the first game, there’s no doubt, in any season. How we perform in that might determine the season. It is not the be all and end all, but all the focus is on that Longford game.’
With that focus, there is no surprise Kierans hasn’t put much emphasis on the newly introduced Tier 2 Championship. If Louth don’t get promoted or reach a Leinster final this season they will play in the secondary competition, but that doesn’t bother the Louth boss for now.
‘We haven’t spoke about it, to be honest,’ Kierans reveals.
‘It is not something I would even envisage thinking about really. If you are talking about goals in the league it is about being promoted.
‘Division 2 is the outcome goal really and the smaller goals are getting the performances in week to week. So the carrot is a place in Division 2, but when you do start thinking about championship the bonus would be then Sam Maguire, but it is not something we’ve really spoken about.’
There is freshness to the squad this season. With Andy McDonnell, Derek Maguire and Jim McEneaney not around, Kierans has had to search for new talent, but he reckons there is no experience vacuum despite the losses.
‘There is still a lot of experience there,’ he insists.
‘There is a youthful look to the side. There is no doubt about that, but the likes of Tommy, Bevan and Craig (Lynch) in goals have been around a while. Some of the guys have been around for a couple of seasons despite their young age, the likes of Ciaran Downey, Emmet Carolan and Fergal Donohoe also, so there is a bit of experience there. It is a good blend. We’ll be looking for leadership from them all.’
Again, Kierans reiterates how much of a loss Newtown Blues captain McDonnell is to his panel both on and off the field, but the challenge is now there for new draftees to rise to the occasion.
‘Andy is a loss, without a doubt,’ Kierans lamented. ‘ We have missed him up until now about the place, but look, it is an opportunity for one of the younger lads to come in and stake their claim to be a starter. If anybody could give as much as Andy has given over the years, we’d be in a great situation.
‘So it is a blow, but look, we’ve got over that now, we know what we have. There is some lads who have got great experience in the O’Byrne Cup and if they can start contributing in a National League level then those players that we are missing will be less felt,’ Kierans added.
Louth face into the campaign with four home games out of seven. That would be an advantage in normal circumstances. However, with Louth’s recent dismal record in the Gaelic Grounds it is cause for concern for Kierans, but it is something they are working on with the panel as a whole.
‘It is not good (recent form), there is no denying it,’ Kierans agreed. ‘But it is something we are really trying to improve. The only way to stop the talk of a bad situation of playing at home is win a couple of games in Drogheda, so that’s obviously the goal.
‘The rights and wrongs of playing in Drogheda, I think could be debated ‘til the cows come home, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. We won’t be playing there for that much longer hopefully.
‘We just have to make sure we perform regardless what pitch we are playing on,’ he continued.
‘The real sort of marker last season was the Croke Park game against Laois. I thought we were exceptional that day. The better the pitch, the better they move, but National league is scheduled when it is, when the pitches are heavy. We train on a heavy pitch all the time so we should be ready for it. We shouldn’t be holding it as an excuse.
So this Sunday Louth will in fact be looking forward to hitting the road and taking on Longford in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park. Bizzarely taking on a county on their home patch seems to suit this current Louth side.
‘Yes exactly,’ Kierans agrees. ‘Last year in Newry and going back a couple of years to the likes of the Tipperary performance I remember watching was absolutely brilliant. So the away days don’t really hold that much fear for us. We’re happy to go anywhere and obviously we’re away the first game so maybe that might suit us.’