Lennon's law is all about hard work
December 30, 2009Louth attacker Shane Lennon emits an unbridled ambition which contrasts sharply with the caricature of the Wee County.
The Leinster minnows offer a tagline which is more than useful for lazy sub-editors but Wee has unfortunate connotations in the world of Gaelic games.
In reflecting on his county's football travails over the past year, Lennon rubbishes the notion that Louth started off the season with limited hopes.
"We set out at the start of the year like most teams with clear, realistic goals and we were confident that we could achieve them," Lennon declares.
"The objective initially was to secure promotion back to division two of the league; then get to the final of the championship and or the last 12 of the qualifiers after that."
In the event, Lennon concedes Louth "underperformed" and didn't achieve any of their stated objectives in 2009.
But anyone wishing to hear a tale of how a team showed themselves to be inferior in technique, individual talent and flair needn't tune into Lennon's broadcast.
Fact is, the Kilkerley Emmets clubman brings to the business of assessing his team's true worth an energy and vigour that fairly reflects what he invariably brings to his club and county's attacking unit.
So he is very much in his stride when the whiff of Louth's O'Byrne Cup success passes under his nostrils.
"We had bigger targets in 2009 like the provincial championship and all-Ireland qualifiers but we were never going to lie down under whatever challenges came our way in the O'Byrne Cup and we deserved to win it out.
"We saw it as good preparation for the league and even though the whole country probably didn't fancy us to win it out, we took a couple of good scalps on the way to winning it which got people to sit up and take notice of us."
Louth's burgeoning re-birth certainly got the media sitting up and taking notice.
The sight of red and white garlands on the O'Byrne Cup was like manna from Heaven for the print and broadcast media.
Sadly what happened for Lennon personally and his team-mates thereafter in the league echoed the 'pride before the fall' adage, big time.
Only victories against Limerick, Longford and Cavan were amassed in division three as Louth's desperate search for some consistency limped through the spring.
"Maybe some of the hype that came after the O'Byrne Cup got to us a bit," Lennon opines. And the penalties?
"Yeh, I missed two penalties in the league against Down and Offaly which proved crucial by the end of the campaign.
"We had a great second half against Down, coming back from the dead almost. Our football in the second half against Down was probably our best of the year.
"I hadn't missed a penalty for a long time and had scored one in the O'Byrne Cup but I definitely slipped up in the league."
The fact that Down and Tipperary went onto gain promotion added salt to Louth's obvious wounds.
It seemed like the side were on the slide already as April dawned with the O'Byrne Cup success fast fading into the background.
One wonders did the fact that Louth's season went so horribly pear-shaped in the wake of such a good start prompt Eamonn McEneaney to feel he'd had enough?
"I don't know but all I can say is that he served Louth football well. All the players were right behind him and were sorry to see him go.
"He put in place a very professional set-up and we're all in a better place than we were four years ago, that's for sure."
At 23, Lennon matches the average age of the outgoing Louth senior panel. He suspects the average age may even drop a bit in the coming seasons too.
He is very impressed by the number of "good players coming up through the ranks from the county development squads."
People outside the county mightn't think so, but there's a great desire among young Gaelic footballers in Louth to play for the county.
"Everyone that plays club football wants to pull on the county jersey and it was a great honour for me to captain the team when Paddy (Keenan) was out injured.
"Lifting the O'Byrne Cup was great for me personally but it's just a pity we couldn't go on as a team and build on that afterwards."
Louth's Leinster safari saw them defeat Carlow but, fatefully, that elusive back-to-back provincial championship victory was thereafter denied them by Laois.
"We left ourselves with far too much to do against Laois. We got within touching distance of them late on but just ran out of time.
"I can't figure out how come we became such slow starters as the year went on because at the time of the O'Byrne Cup we were killing teams off in the first 20 minutes.
"The championship draw wasn't the worst in the world for us but a few things went against us during the year like injuries at the wrong time but we also kicked a lot of wides in different games and there's no excuse for that. "
Lennon fully agrees that expectations were far from realised in 2009. But like last year when defeats against would-be Leinster champions (Dublin) and All-Ireland SFC winners-elect Tyrone were put in the 'must learn from' file, he is anxious to move on.
He is wont to look to the future, albeit a McEneaney-less year ahead.
"Whoever comes in now with have a good, young squad to work with and we will hopefully learn from the past and show that the form we showed in 2006 in the qualifiers against Tyrone is something we can repeat on a consistent basis.
"With a bit of fresh, new blood and a commitment from everyone to get their heads down and put their shoulders to the wheel, I don't see any reason why we can't make a better impression in the league and the championship next year."
And the gap to be made up on those currently ahead of Louth in the pecking order?
"I don't think it's that much of a gap. We would have fancied ourselves against Meath, for instance, in the championship and look at how far they got this year.
"Antrim gave Kerry a bit of a scare after beating Cavan earlier on and I remember we played them in a challenge in Darver and beat them very easily."
Having completed his fifth year in the harness for Louth seniors, Lennon is looking forward to the time the Wee County "gets the sort of results that will reflect the quality there is in the panel."
"We have a lot more in the tank than we showed this year," he says defiantly.
"The players who won the Leinster junior title will be itching to get a run with the seniors and that should only help competition for places which is important.
"Everyone in 2009 was totally committed to the cause and singing from the one hymnsheet and I expect it'll be the same in the coming year.
"If that happens, I think our quality will keep us in good stead for our attempts at getting back into division two and getting at least a couple of wins in the Leinster championship." Tweet
