Following the rollercoaster ride that was Louth's Senior Championship campaign, there are many ways to assess the Wee County's 2010 season, but few can argue that, despite the Leinster Final disappointment, it was a year full of positives.

Having gone into the Leinster Championship with modest ambitions, Louth performed heroically to reach the provincial decider only to have the trophy cruelly snatched from their grasp by the worst refereeing decision in living memory, while the lack of leadership shown by the GAA authorities only served to compound the sense of injustice.

Much has been said and written about the Leinster Final debacle but according to Adrian Reid it is essential that the players put the disappointment behind them and use the experience to help continue their progress in 2011.
In a season that ended in such a devastating manner, the Mattock Rangers man knows there are many positives to be taken from the campaign and all involved are determined to keep the Wee County in the spotlight.

"So much has been said about the final that it is hard to know what to say. The bottom line is that it happened and we have to move on," said Adrian. "Everyone knows it was a total injustice but you can sit around and lament about what might have been or, get on with it. You can't live in the past and if you were to look back and wonder, you would never play football again.

"The important thing for us is to take the many positives from this year and try to build on that for next year. If somebody had said at the start of the season that we would get to the Leinster Final and be robbed of the title, we would have said they were crazy, but overall we have to say that it was a successful season.

"Whatever else happened, there is no doubt that the profile of Louth football has been raised and it is brilliant for the county to be getting such attention. However, we realise that we have set new standards for ourselves and it is important to step up another level next season and prove that this year was not a flash in the pan. Our first target has to be to set our stall out in the league and try to get out of Division 3," he explained.
While there will be a certain amount of pressure on Louth next year, Adrian is hoping that all involved can take inspiration from the experience of the build-up to the Leinster Final and lining out in Croke Park on provincial final day, which is something that will live long in the memory.

"The build-up to the final really was memorable and although some people say the players shouldn't get involved, I think you have to roll with it. The important thing is not to get carried away and I certainly don't think we did as we managed to enjoy it without taking our eye off the Leinster Final.
"We knew there would be a lot of publicity and great interest from the supporters but it was great to have men like Peter McDonnell and Brian McEniff who had been through it all before and were able to give us good advice about what to do and not to do," added Adrian.

While the build-up to the game was memorable for the Collon man, he reveals that it was nothing compared to the day itself and being on Croke Park that day is something he will never forget.
"Walking around the field for the parade was just brilliant. We had 25,000 supporters going wild and that was a really special feeling. It is something that you have to embrace and if you weren't pumped up after that then there is something wrong. That was one of the things we all talked about that night and for us all it will live long in the memory."

For the Louth players, it wasn't the only positive to be taken from Croke Park in disappointing circumstances, as the reaction to the defeat against Dublin illustrated perfectly the passion of the Louth support.
"After the Leinster Final, we just wanted to get out an play football again and leading up to the Dublin game we all felt we were ready and that the disappointment would not affect us. Looking back you would have to say that it did affect us because we really didn't do ourselves justice. Dublin were a team on the up and they came out determined not to let us settle and in the first half tore us apart," explained Adrian.

The Wee County played with great character in the second half and although it was a very disappointing way to end the season, for Adrian and the rest of the squad, there was another memorable experience to come as Croke Park rose to give the players a standing ovation.

"It wasn't something that was planned as we were just about to leave the pitch when we realised that most of the fans had stayed. At first we didn't know what was happening but then just decided we had to go around to salute the supporters. It made us realise just what it meant to the Louth fans and while people were saying that they were showing their appreciation to us, it was just as much us saying thank you to them for getting behind us all year," he added.

That lap of honour was the perfect end to a heroic championship season for Louth but one that got off to a slow start as the Wee County, on the back of an indifferent league campaign, struggled to overcome Longford in the opening round.
According to Reid there was a lot of pressure on the side that day while the Midlanders subsequently proved themselves to be a quality side with victory over Mayo.

"Going into the game, Peter Fitzpatrick told us that Longford would be the biggest test in our hopes of getting to a Leinster Final and that is the way it turned out. All the pressure was on us while Longford had nothing to lose and on a very hot day, we were just happy to get over the line.
"The good thing about the game was that we responded when the pressure was on when other teams might not have battled on, so we took a lot of heart from that.

"Going into the Kildare game, we were the ones with no pressure and nobody expected anything from us. However, in the build-up to the game Peter instilled a great sense of self-belief in us and we went out and turned in our best performance of the year. That really made people stand up and take notice, especially as we had played so well as a team and that we were able to respond every time Kildare came at us."

That victory gave Louth real hope of getting to a first Leinster Final in 50 years, but with it came a lot of pressure and Adrian admits that at times it was hard not to feel that sense of history.
"When we were training for the game, we made the point that we were not trying to get to a Leinster Final, but simply trying to beat Westmeath. However, deep down you can't avoid thinking about it, particularly near the end of the game and it was such a brilliant feeling to hear the final whistle. It was just fantastic and the support was unbelievable, so winning that game was one of the best moments ever," he continued.

While all the talk was about the Leinster Final heartbreak, that victory over Westmeath is certainly the moment that defined the season. It was when they players stood up to the pressure put Louth football back on the map.
The achievements of 2010 have created their own pressure for next season but everyone in Louth is hoping that the players can respond to the challenge and make 2011 another year to remember. Tweet

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