Graham Geraghty has set his sights on a place in the Meath starting XV this year.

The player-selector, who turns 39 in May, made his first Pairc Tailteann appearance in four years when he was introduced as a substitute against Louth yesterday, but made it clear afterwards that he has no intention of warming the bench..

"I'm going to be training with the lads and doing the work they're doing," he said in The Star.

"So I can't see why I can't get up to the level they're at. If any lads aren't inter-county match-fit, then they're not going to be playing. I have to get myself up to that level and get myself into contention.

"I don't see any reason why I can't if I'm putting in the work. There's competition for places, but I'd have one vote more than the rest of them anyway!"

He continued: "Last year coming back and only getting 10 minutes (against Kildare in the Leinster championship) before getting hurt made me say that I'd give it another rattle to see how I got on.

"Before Christmas I was doing a bit of jogging and it wasn't getting any better. I was nearly resigned to the fact that it wasn't going to heal quick enough so I just stopped running for about three years.

"Then, all of a sudden, it just seemed to come right. It was probably rest more than anything." Tweet

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