Only one team are truly in a no-lose situation heading into the weekend's football quarter-finals. As the surprise member of the last eight and the county that has already surpassed expectations, Westmeath, more than anyone, have dropped the baggage of pressure.

Meath have already beaten them in Croke Park this year and as Leinster champions they logically should progress.

A similar burden faces Tyrone and Roscommon in their re-matches with Derry and Galway respectively - two counties with the better provincial records this decade.

As All-Ireland champions, all assumptions are that Kerry should beat Dublin. More significantly, all seven of them still fancy their chances of winning the championship outright.

So Westmeath are expected to lose. Yet since that first meeting they have defied logic, actually gaining pace as they came through the qualifiers. And for manager Luke Dempsey, the dream story is not ready to end just yet.

"We want to show the rest of the country that this is not just a romantic story with a sudden ending," he says. "We want to show that we deserve to be here. I know we're up against one of the strongest and most physical teams in the country but we don't want to be remembered as the team that got so far and then just died.

"And it has been said that we would be woken up to the realities of senior football by playing Meath in an All-Ireland quarter-final. Well I think we woke up to that reality when we beat Cork in the league final. People may run down the league but we want to show them that the Division Two victory was not a once-off."

Dempsey's optimistic philosophy has continued to grow since Meath edged past them by a point at the start of June.

Wexford were very nearly the stumbling block but wins over Limerick, Louth and especially Mayo has provided a steady flood of enthusiasm. Now that it's Meath again doesn't worry him either.

"We are just thrilled as a team that we're still in it. And of course it doesn't matter who we meet at this stage because all the teams left are tough. I mean we'd much rather be playing Meath in Croke Park on Sunday than watching some other team play Meath.

"And in some ways playing Meath again gives us an extra incentive. We want to reverse the result of June, but we also know that game will be totally irrelevant. Of course it's a huge challenge but the players are all very excited about it. It's the third time this season that we've had a big game in Croke Park and the Westmeath supporters have got the best entertainment of their lives."

Nor is Dempsey concerned that his players may be running out of steam. Even with five more tests behind them since their first game with Meath, none of his players require fresh lessons in motivation.

"It's the first year that any of these players have got an extended run and in that situation I think you can generate the hunger a little longer. We've worked so hard to get here and we want to give a good account of ourselves. Of course you don't know how much appetite they have left until the game itself but I'm fairly sure that they do still have it.

"Like I know Mayo will feel a little bit unlucky now. They were unfortunate to lose the Connacht final and we had just enough spirit to get past them. Right now we are three matches away from achieving the dream of every player that's ever played. We are one of the eight teams left and we got there the hard way. We're battle hardened at this stage."

Even though Westmeath have yet to record a championship win over Meath, the support within the county remains undiminished. They travelled in thousands to Hyde Park a fortnight ago and they'd want a good excuse to stay away from Croke Park on Sunday.

"Of course there is a great buzz in the county but that's what it's all about. For the players as well, to get this sort of exposure is something everyone wants. Every inter-county footballer has a talent that they want to see exposed and that's what these players are getting."

And there is another reason why Dempsey is so positive about meeting Meath again. The previous game, which ended in a 2-12 to 1-14 win for Meath, taught himself and his players a few valuable lessons.

"The big turning point there was Ollie Murphy's goal towards the end, which came from a suspect refereeing decision that led to the free. Of course you will always get decisions like that but it was uphill for us after that.

"And we played that bit naively from then on. We still could have edged a draw but we showed our inexperience and lost sight of some of our shooting. We were slack in defence as well but I think we've been making up for that since then."