Fitzer wants the progress to continue
December 30, 2010A year ago, Louth football was very much in the doldrums. The team struggled to stay up in Division 3 of the National League and a championship campaign that nobody wants to remember ended with defeat at home to Tipperary in the All-Ireland Qualifiers.
On top of that, the county had no senior team manager and senior County Board officials were not have much luck in attracting a candidate. The prospects looked anything but promising for the 2010 campaign.
However, 12 months on and the situation has changed in a manner so dramatic that not even the most optimistic supporter could have foreseen it.
At the end of the 2010 campaign, Louth can reflect on a first Leinster Final in 50 years and a huge upsurge in support that has gone along with it, while the team is being talked about with great admiration throughout the country.
On top of that, the captain, Paddy Keenan, is now recognised as one of the best in Ireland with an All-Star Award, a GPA Team of the Year award and a place on the Ireland International Rules side.
There were many other brilliant performances throughout the season, including a series of excellent displays from John O'Brien who came within a whisker of also picking up an All-Star.
The many highs over the summer have been tempered by the travesty of the Leinster Final defeat, but for Louth the focus is on looking to the future rather than dwelling on the negatives.
The man who has overseen the great transformation, Peter Fitzpatrick, is determined that 2010 will be seen as a stepping stone to greater success, rather than a one-off, as he reflects on a dramatic first year in charge.
"The first thing I have to say is that I was absolutely honoured to be given position as manager of the Louth team. It was something I had wanted but I believed the opportunity has passed and then all of a sudden it came out of nowhere," he explained.
Given the success that was to follow, it is hard to imagine that he new manager's began with a real fear of seeing the county team standards drop even further.
"I have to admit that after seeing Louth struggle to stay in Division 3 in previous years, I was really afraid of the possibility of us going down this year and it would be a terrible legacy to have brought Louth into Division 4.
'I was fortunate to have a good team of selectors over the season including, Gerry Cumiskey, Martin McQuillan and later on, Peter McDonnell, and we left no stone unturned in trying to improve the team.
"The first thing I asked for when I came in was that lads would show pride in the jersey and that is what I got from the start. We did well in the O'Byrne Cup and were unlucky to lose in the final to DCU.
"We started very well in the league with three wins in the first four games and those six points helped us consolidate our position in the league," added Peter.
The next step was to push for promotion but a disappointing defeat at home to Roscommon followed by a very poor performance against Antrim in Belfast put paid to those hopes.
At the end of the league campaign, many were writing off the season as a failure, but the manager saw something in the final game of the season that gave an early indication of what was to come.
"I think one of the most important games was against Offaly in Tullamore in the last game of the league. We were five or six points down in that game but decided to give it a lash and came back to win it.
"That told me there was something in this team and gave me encouragement going into the Longford game. A lot of people didn't give us a chance in that game and I knew it was going to be difficult, but thankfully we played well and came out on top. Longford proved afterwards that they are a good side when beating Mayo in the Qualifiers."
That win secured the Wee County a quarter-final meeting with Kildare in Navan and while few people gave Louth any hope, it turned out to be one of the highlights of Louth football in recent years.
"I have to say that in all my time involved with Louth as a player or manager, I have never seen a team performance like that. From the moment the ball was thrown in until the final whistle the players were excellent and really deserved the victory."
That performance brought Louth to national attention and, more importantly, within one win of a first Leinster Final appearance in 50 years. It was a lot of pressure on the team but Fitzer revealed that they handled it admirably.
"This time we had a different challenge as we went in as favourites but we knew it would be tough against a Westmeath side who had regrouped after a difficult league campaign.
"However, we went out and put in a great performance and we probably should have won by more than two points but it was just great to be in a Leinster Final," explained Peter.
The feeling of satisfaction at bridging a 50-year gap wasn't allowed last too long within the squad as Peter reveals they all believed they had the ability to beat Meath.
"Going into the game we knew we could win it and there is no doubt that the lads were nervous in the opening 10 or 15 minutes but that is not surprising. However, we made a few changes and got on top but unfortunately we just didn't finish it off. Everybody knows what happened at the end and there is no point in going into it again.
"There is no doubt that the lads were shell-shocked going into the Dublin game and it was disappointing to go out in that manner. However, they proved what they are capable of in the second half with showing of great character.
"That game will be memorable for what happened afterwards and I have to say it is the biggest thrill I got in football to walk around Croke Park to a standing ovation and then to get to Hill 16 where all the Dublin supporters waited to salute us. I have never seen anything like that before and the players still talk about it," explained the manager.
While there are many great memories from 2010, Peter knows the challenge is to build for the future and make progress next season.
"The thing about this year is that there is pride back in the Louth jersey but we know it is going to be tough in 2011. We will be looking to win the Leinster Championhip and to get out of Division 3 but there are a lot of quality teams there.
"It will be difficult without the likes of John O'Brien, Mick Fanning and Brian White as they have developed into fine players this year, but the rest of the squad are keen to get going and give it another shot next year."
The curtain came down on the 2010 campaign with a trip to New York in November which Peter feels was a just reward for the efforts the players put in.
"It was great for the lads to get something after what they did this year and I think it should be acknowledged that the money for the trip was raised by the players themselves and there was no grants provided for the holiday.
"The work for the new season started as soon as we got home with a programme for the gym and everybody is eager to get themselves in peak condition for the new season and hopefully we can bring Louth football to a new level," concluded Peter. Tweet
