Delvin calls for reset as Louth begin Leinster SFC defence

Louth senior football manager, Gavin Delvin, has urged his side to draw a line under the National League as they prepare to defend their provincial crown against Wexford GAA, at Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow this Sunday

Speaking ahead of the tie, he said: “The league in totality was a good campaign, you'd have to say. Particularly, the middle up to the end of the league was really, really strong. But the start of it wasn't so strong in the first three games.

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“It's a bittersweet league campaign because, good and all, it's been like if someone had said to you at the start of the year that, you know, the Cork game at home or meeting in Croke Park, if you could get something out of one of those two games, that you'd be promoted to Division One, you'd feel really bitterly disappointed if you didn't achieve that.

“And ultimately that's what happened. So yeah, the middle of the league and definitely towards the end, we found a level, and it was really good and encouraging.

“But it was bittersweet the league because we'd come so close to what it would have been like to go into a new stadium in Division One. It would have been monumental, and we just fell short of that.

“So yeah, one hand really delighted with how it turned out and another hand thinking, if only, type thing. It's a matter now of setting that down and moving on now to the part of the season that really, really matters, and that's where we're at now.”

Championship

Delvin is clear, the championship is a different test altogether than the league.

“The league has been good, but it's gone now, and I think that's the challenge now. It takes on a new life of its own, the Championship, it really does.

“My experience is telling me from past experience not to get too hung up either good or bad, or don't get too high on the back of a really good league campaign.

“Or sometimes if you're not doing overly well, like my own county at the moment in Tyrone, would it be perceived having an underpowered league campaign, but that won't matter.

“It's a matter of not getting too high or too low. It's a new campaign, all bets are off. It's the start of summer football, it's a seasonal thing where it's a new game, the ball, the pitches, everything's moving faster.

“And some teams, some individuals acclimatise really well to those conditions, others not so well, so we've got to make sure that for this new part of the season, it's a reset button and we embrace this challenge.

“Because the league's gone now, and the league and championship are two different worlds.”

Squad depth 

Injuries have forced Louth to rotate heavily during the league, but the manager believes that experience has strengthened the group.

“Everything's a journey, you're learning every day as a coach or in players. Unfortunately, our hand was forced through the latter part of the league with picking up injuries.

“Other guys got an opportunity as the door closed for some guys, and then another door opened for other lads.

“They took on the challenge really well, and they stood up to that challenge. Yeah, that's been really positive. As you say, in the new game now, it's a panel game.

“We've seen last week the minors won, and the under-20s won, and have been in a good position as well. They're qualified for the semi-final there.

“We're in a good enough place, and I suppose over the next number of years we'll be on this journey of trying to strengthen as we go and try and put together a squad that can be really, really competitive.

“I think it's a new game. It's so flexible and adaptable that you've got to be able to do different things at different times, in and out of possession or in kick-out moments.

“I think the more boxes you can tick as an individual, the more strings you have to your bow.

“That's been the name of the game over the last number of years now, definitely for the decade. It's about being able to play in different positions at different times. That's so true.”

Expectations

The Wee County enter the championship from a very different position than in recent seasons, something Delvin welcomes.

“Look, I was here five years ago with Mickey (Harte), and it was a different optic. We were coming in, and we were no-hopers, and you were looking at teams above you, like Dublin, Meath and Kildare at that time.

“We played Kildare, I think it was, in Tullamore, and we got a spanking in the Championship. “I think there was maybe 20-odd points in it. That wasn't a nice feeling.

“You were going into games trying to wonder, can we even be competitive today? Can we keep the score down? That's not a nice feeling. Now that we're Leinster champions, other things have been through that.

“Is that pressure or is that another chain around your neck? I'd far rather be in this position than we were five years ago. That's all I would say on that.

“Now we have an opportunity of defending a Leinster Championship. How good is that? I think that's something to embrace. That's something to be positive about.

“These guys last year found the answer in Croke Park to beat Meath in the Leinster final. They were able to get the job done, and that's a massive positive.

“This is a new year, and there will be new obstacles and new challenges along the way. I feel that we're just in a really nice place.

“Anything's possible. This part of the season hasn't been written yet, and we've got to be ready for whatever comes our way.”

Leinster’s finest

Despite Louth’s rise, Delvin acknowledges the continued strength of Leinster’s established teams.

“You have to be fair, Dublin have been one of the greatest teams in my lifetime. I don't know, will it ever be equalled?

“They're still relegated, but they're still playing a really good, strong brand of football. In a lot of games this year, they were so, so competitive in Division One, and they're still playing really, really fast.

“In Croke Park on any given day, no matter who you are, whether you're Kerry or you're Armagh, you're Donegal, you need to bring your A game to the Dubs.

“The Dubs are the Dubs, Meath are promoted to Division One, and they are on the crest of a wave. Legitimately, they're there to be beat.

“If bookies have Dublin and Meath one and two, and we're three, we're not in a bad place, I suppose. I never get too hung up on bookies or other people's opinions.

“We just come here on a nightly basis and try to grow and get better as a squad, and that's what we're at.”

Wexford

Sunday’s opponents arrive in form and full of belief, something not lost on the Louth manager.

“Wexford, even as a player back in the mid-noughties, with Tyrone, Wexford were a nemesis to us. They beat us in the semi-final of the National League, and then we were fortunate enough to get over them in the semi-final of the All-Ireland.

“With Matty Ford and the boys, they were such a fantastic team back then. Here we go again, they're back again, Wexford, and they haven't went away.

“Back-to-back promotions is no mean feat. There must be real energy and real buzz about their training at the moment.

“I can just imagine what it would be like to be coming up against the Leinster champions, and no doubt they'd look up Louth and be licking their lips and thinking we've got a real chance here, taking out the Leicester champions.

“And we're in a really good place. It must be exciting to be in their training field at the moment, and there must be a real, real buzz. We're under no illusions of what's in front of us.

“You can just sense it from the games. The Westmeath game, the euphoria after that game, they found a way to win that game.

“That game could have got away from them, but they (Wexford) wouldn't allow it to get away from them. That last play going dead, they found a way, they had the keeper it out fast.

“The receiver was on the jump to pick up the kick-out. It was a speculative ball-in, but they won it. They arrived first to the ball, and the ball didn't go in the first attempt, but they got the ricochet.

“A lot of things had to go their way. There had to be so many people wanting to win that game in that moment. Even against Down in the league final, they had Down sussed for long periods that game and Down are no bad team.

“This is going to be a really competitive game, and we wouldn't want it any other way. It's a championship match.

“The best 26 players in Wexford that's available to them has come up against the best 26 players in Louth in that moment. That's championship football.”

Venue

Late confirmation of the venue has added another layer to preparations.

“The CCC, it's a job that I wouldn't want… It's outside our control… there's a game to play, and there's a game to win, and that's all that we can control.”

Knockout football

Championship football brings its own demands as momentum can shift quickly, and nothing is guaranteed.

“We would hope that it would be positive, but there's no guarantees in that. This is a new competition with a knockout mentality.

“One game you're out, and momentum is a massive thing in a new game. Forty, fifty, fifty-five minutes into this game, and we lose momentum, and the noise is up.

“The National League will be the fourth thing from your memory, and it's only past experience that tells me that. Whether it's the Masters at snooker or Ally Pally at darts, and you know it's a one-on-one and the winner takes all.

“It takes on a life of its own, and that's the championship football. I feel if you get over the first round and then again, it's a bit like a league, you can find your groove again.

“But this first game, all bets are off, and Wexford know that and they'll be licking their lips, no doubt. We'll be also licking our lips too and looking forward.

“It's the part of the season where, in November and December and January, pre-season nights, with every bit of the National League, it's summer football, it's championship football that really gets your juices flowing.

“We're now a couple of days out from that, so we're in a brilliant part of the season.”

Injuries

Like most counties, the Reds will not be at full strength due to injuries.

“Injuries are pretty much like Derry or Kerry or Dublin. You look at every team in the country, and they're going out, and they're minus one, two or three players, and we're navigating that as well.

“We have two season-defining injuries with Peter Lynch and now 'Callo' (Eoghan Callaghan) as well. Two nasty injuries.

“With other guys, it's a big jump that's coming off the physio bed and being declared fit as opposed to being matched fit, so it's getting that balance.

“We're in a healthy enough position, we're no different to anyone else where there's a few guys that this game could come a bit early for.

“Even if they're not just ready right now, they're a lot further down the road than they were at that Kildare game in Newbridge. There's nothing to complain about.

“We're in a healthy position. Will we have a squad 100% fit? Absolutely not, but I wouldn't suspect that Wexford would either.”

Focused

Preparation has evolved throughout the season, but the fundamentals remain.

“We've been building principles and treads all year, and as you go, they evolve, and that'll be a kick-out strategy for or against our different wheel earnings, in and out of possession.

“The wheel keeps turning, the nuance is constantly changing all the time, and I think the biggest thing is the seasonal football. The pitch is harder, the ball moves faster.

“A lot of opposition teams, county teams, their whole plan is around championship football, so you see a different jump in them, a different bounce in them, and it's been able to adapt, and we bring that energy as well, that different seasonal change to the game.

“We all know from our own experience that a league and a championship are two different games, so not only will we be right for it, we want to bring some of that of our own as well. It's just a real interesting time.”