NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: Focusing on the four promoted teams to Division One of the National League, Seán Moran first looks at Westmeath who lost in the O'Byrne Cup on Sunday.
The drum roll that heralded Páidí Ó Sé's arrival in Westmeath had a more ominous rhythm for Paddy Collins. The long-serving county secretary knew the new manager from his time as a referee when he took charge of four All-Ireland finals, including three featuring Ó Sé. Such acquaintance made Collins an obvious mark for someone unfamiliar with the county and whose other choice as selector was a fellow Kerryman based in Dublin, Tomás Ó Flatharta.
"Páidí came in and didn't really know anyone apart from me who he'd known for a long time. He asked if I'd come in as selector for a year and persisted because I felt I'd enough of things to do. I said I'd help but didn't want to be called a selector. He's a hard man to refuse and eventually I said 'I'll do it'."
Not involved in the recruitment process, Collins was aware of the reservations about the short interval between the manager's fraught departure from Kerry and his arrival in the midlands, the suspicion Ó Sé was on the rebound.
"I'm sure it crossed people's minds. He was very disappointed at the way things panned out in Kerry but he's a passionate football man and football is a necessary part of his life, it would seem."
Three months on, the impact is unarguable. Sunday's O'Byrne Cup final drew 14,612 to Mullingar - a record for the competition and the venue. Ó Sé's exuberance has been at the heart of the hype.
"The launch in the Greville Arms was an eye-opener," Collins says of the fanfare that accompanied the management's media launch.
Ó Sé's disillusion at the end of his Kerry job was mirrored by the feelings of his Westmeath predecessor Luke Dempsey who objected to having to reapply for the position back in the autumn. Collins's assessment is measured.
"The county's extremely thankful to Luke for his contribution to Westmeath football since 1995 and he'll always have a special place in the hearts of Westmeath people. He brought teams to two All-Irelands and made a great contribution to the profile of the GAA in the county. But there was possibly a body of opinion that Luke wasn't going to get much more from the existing panel."
The league campaign is Westmeath's second crack at Division One in three years. The 2002 season, the county's first at the top, was undermined by injuries and narrow defeats but relegation added to the county's reputation for near misses. There is a strong sense Ó Sé has been brought in because of his familiarity with the road map for intercounty success.
"That would go without saying," says Collins. "We've had relative success: two National League Division Two titles and the All-Ireland quarter-finals in 2001. Westmeath people were quite happy to achieve that but there's quite a few more rungs on the ladder before you can be categorised as 'successful'.
"Páidí Ó Sé can come to Westmeath, put his hand in his pocket and put eight All-Ireland medals on the table. Even that's enough to capture attention in Westmeath. He's able to convince people of the level of sacrifice that's needed if we're to have any chance of troubling the major powers.
"When progress was made some players mightn't have been aware of the sacrifice needed. There's no point in going so far and then letting your social life compromise it. Páidí has convinced them that any continuation of that will leave them as gallant losers but not on the steps of the Hogan Stand when major trophies are being given out."
Expectations have risen to the point major trophies are being cautiously talked about. Interim ambitions might be retention of Division One status and a provincial final but Collins feels the county's first senior provincial title isn't as distant a concept as it once was.
"We're trying to win Leinster. There's no major power in the province. Now there's a number of counties who feel they have a realistic chance. Westmeath would like to think they might be one of those counties."
