The word loser and Longford veteran Padraic Davis will never figure in the same lexicon. But after figuring in the defeat to Westmeath in last month's All-Ireland qualifiers, he has decided to hang up his intercounty boots. Westmeath had Longford up against the ropes in the All-Ireland qualifiers for long spells but in the days that followed, Luke Dempsey's men could have been forgiven for looking more than a little punch drunk. News that long-time top scorer Padraic Davis had called it quits left Longford Football Inc. taking a standing count of eight and badly in a need of R and R in the blue, white and gold corner. For over eleven years, Davis was one of Longford football's true heavyweights. He could be depended upon to land opponents' ambitions into the next field with a deadly haymaker. Sadly his appearances in the ring for Longford of late have been more of the cameo than centre-stage variety and his final 15 minutes of action at Cusack Park, last month represented his swan song. After an intercounty career kick-started by a challenge match against Roscommon in 1995, his native county's 0-9 to 0-18 drubbing by their neighbours in Mullingar was scarcely the encore he wanted or deserved. "You can't go through a career at any level expecting that when you bow out, it'll be to a standing ovation or with a championship medal," the 32 year old one-time Longford scorer-in-chief reflects. "It's a pity that I couldn't have finished my time with Longford on a better note but that's football. You have to live with the fact that things seldom go your way just when you want them." Things, in fact, went really pear-shaped for Davis and Co. as they exited the All-Ireland series by a whopping nine points. By all accounts, Longford's losing margin slightly flattered them as the homesters gave the visitors a by now rare going over in front of some 6,000 fans. Longford actually trailed by 0-5 to 0-17 by the time our man Davis was drafted in for Padraig Berry with just 13 minutes of normal time remaining in the match. Westmeath were on easy street by that stage despite having lost the services of leading light up front, Fergal Wilson, in the 48th minute. "It was disappointing the way things went belly-up for us in Mullingar; we definitely fell well short of expectations especially with the way things went last year for the team. "The county reached the last 12 of the All-Ireland in 2006 and I suppose our supporters were maybe expecting us to match that great run or even go further this year but it wasn't to be. "I'd say the supporters might have been a bit naieve to think that we'd do even better this time around because of the four championship games last year, two of them were against Waterford and Tipperary. "With no disrespect to either of those two teams, Longford, even on a bad day, would be capable of beating them. "I don't think the team is as bad as the scoreboard against Westmeath suggested. I'd say we're somewhere in between the standard we showed in 2006 and the game in Mullingar." It is said hunger is a great motivational tool and, for his part, the Drumlish native reckons Westmeath displayed a much greater zest for the battle in Cusack Park. There was little doubt but that Longford appeared to lack confidence after spurning a gilt-edged chance to springing a surprise against Laois in the Leinster SFC quarter-final five weeks previous. "The Laois game was our best display of the year without a doubt in my view," he says, "but the scores just didn't come." In truth, whatever pieces were missing in their jigsaw, Longford never got going against their neighbours from Westmeath and Longford played second fiddle for the vast majority of the match. "We were poor but you can't take it away from Westmeath. They were delighted to get another crack at us and they made it count," Davis admits. "Because they were gunning for revenge for the defeat we handed them in the first round of the provincial championship, they were really up for the match and with home venue, there was just no stopping them. "They were mad for action and I'm sure they were determined to make up for the last time we played them. By half-time, it was obvious that things were heading their way too." Longford trailed by 0-3 to 0-10 at the interval but there was never any indication that they had the werewithall on the day to rescue the situation as they had managed in the teams' Pearse Park clash weeks earlier. In seeing their charges head out of the championship in double-quick time, the Longford team-management of Luke Dempsey, Declan Rowley and Eugene McCormack must now contemplate their next move forward. "Everyone has to take stock after this year but what happened in the championship was signposted from well out," says the popular auctioneer, "because our performances in the national league weren't great. "A lot of people have different views about the value of the league but we had a bad campaign and it definitely didn't help the confidence or self-belief in the camp heading into the championship. "You look at Monaghan and their league campaign and the way it helped provide a platform for their good run in the Ulster championship. With a bit of luck they could have beaten Tyrone. "I think it's important that a team does reasonably well in the league but that wasn't the case for us this year and we got it hard to improve our form enough by the time the championship came around." Having amassed some 200 games for his county and played at the top level for twelve years, the husband of Emma and father of Bronagh and Saoirse is well positioned to judge the standard of football these days. Interestingly, he reckons that, Dublin apart, there is no county in Leinster who you would have backed to win the Leinster SFC this year with any degree of confidence. Davis, a successful auctioneer based in Market Square, Longford, believes the blue riband competition among the best from the east is a very even affair with little or nothing separating the teams in terms of class. "You wouldn't want to be going head to head with Dublin every year in the championship but the others, well you wouldn't lose any sleep about taking them on," he opines. "I think the lads in the panel would accept that there was a place in the Leinster final very much there for us this year but we let the opportunity slip through our fingers. "That would have been against Dublin in Croke Park; we would have been very much the underdogs which would have suited us down to the ground. "It would have been a great achievement to get to the provincial final and we'd have done everything in our power to win it but it wasn't to be unfortunately," adds Davis, a championship debutant (v Wicklow) in 1996. Winner of four Longford SFC medals with his native Fr. Manning Gaels, Davis reckons that the standard of football way out west isn't quite as high as in Leinster and he says results in 2007 backs him up. "With no disrespect to them, I think Sligo are a very average team but you have to take your hat off to them in winning their first Connacht senior title for over 30 years. "I'd have to say though that they're still probably only the fourth best team in Connacht behind Galway, Mayo and Leitrim. "You can get pretty far though with hard work and application and fair play to Sligo but the standard of football in Connacht is definitely nothing to write home about." So where does Longford stand at the moment in the overall scheme of things nationally after what was a disappointing year for the county? "We're in the middle tier, I'd say, where there's not a lot of difference between the teams there but the top tier is a different ball game altogether. "We need to bring through a group of lads and be patient in developing a good, strong squad that will be there for the long haul. "There is some outstanding talent in the county right now but it's not about individuals, it's about having a squad that will be able for the long road, through the league and onto the championship. "In my opinion, we aren't that far away from getting to the stage where we would be capable of making a breakthrough. "The current panel is every bit as good as the Longford team of 2006 but we didn't show that against Westmeath last time out," the former Railway Cup medallist (2001) re-iterates. And his personal future vis-a-vis Gaelic football? "I'll continue to play club football and enjoy it for as long as I can. "I had a good innings with Longford and have no regrets about coming back and playing again this year. "I'm thankful for having had the opportunity to represent my county, even if I didn't win anything." Tweet

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