If pundits in the media are to be believed, Meath are a spent force. But seasoned campaigner Nigel Nestor argues that the Royals are well capable of bouncing back in 2004. Write Meath off at your peril . . . that's the defiant message of long-serving utility player Nigel Nestor. The Royal County's early exit from this year's championship has led to suggestions that they are a spent force and that their hugely successful manager Sean Boylan has brought them as far as he can. Meath's shock defeat to Fermanagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers was one of the most disappointing their supporters can ever remember, but Nestor doesn't necessarily believe it's the end of an era. "People have written Meath off before and they've come back to prove them wrong," he reminds us. "I've been involved with the Meath set-up since 1995 and after every championship campaign, people have been saying it's the end of an era. I can't say for sure if this really is the end of an era, but I'd like to think it's not. There is still a lot of football left in the likes of Trevor Giles, Darren Fay and Graham Geraghty and Meath needs them to stick around for another year and help to bring the younger players through." There was much speculation about whether or not Sean Boylan would seek a 22nd year as Meath boss. In the end Boylan decided to give it another go and was backed by the club delegates to continue. "Football is a huge part of his life and he commands so much respect in the dressingroom." Boylan was in the process of rebuilding yet another Meath team this year and came tantalizingly close to guiding them to the Leinster final. He handed six players their championship debuts against Westmeath and they all showed up well as Meath pulled out all the stops to snatch a draw. A more determined Meath team took the field for the replay and after Dessie Dolan had a penalty saved by Cormac Sullivan, the Royals launched a blistering counterattack which culminated in David Crimmins scoring the only goal and paving the way for a comfortable 1-11 to 0-5 win. Meath started the Leinster semi-final against Kildare in whirlwind fashion, storming into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead inside the first 10 minutes. But the Lilywhites then staged a remarkable recovery and duly went on to claim a one-point victory. The All-Ireland qualifier draw pitted the Royals against Monaghan, who had been a much improved team under former Meath selector Colm Coyle. Just as they did against Kildare, Meath burst out of the starting blocks and had built up an unassailable 2-8 to 0-2 lead by half-time. Monaghan outscored Meath by 0-10 to 0-2 in the second half, but the Royals' victory was never in doubt. Then came the unexpected defeat to Fermanagh which put paid to Meath's championship hopes for another year. The Royals led by 0-5 to 0-3 at the break, but they never really recovered from the concession of a Raymond Gallagher goal just after the restart and they eventually lost by 0-9 to 1-12. While Nestor had expected a tough game from the Ernesiders, he felt it was a hurdle Meath were capable of traversing. "We knew Fermanagh were going to put it up to us because they had beaten us in the league in the past two years and they have some very talented players. But not only did I think we would get over Fermanagh, I also felt we were good enough to go and win the All-Ireland. Needless to say, it was a massive shock to the system to be out of the championship at an early stage for the second year running," he says. While taking nothing away from Fermanagh's win, the 29-year-old believes that Meath were unable to cope in the absence of their injured stars. "We never really got going this year and I would put that down to the fact that we had so many injuries. A team needs to stay injury-free to have any chance of making progress in the championship. "Ollie Murphy, Darren Fay and Nigel Crawford were big losses to us in the early part of the championship and no sooner had they come back than we lost Shane McKeigue and Daithi Regan. To compound matters, Ollie only lasted 20 minutes in his comeback game against Fermanagh." Despite the Royal County's injury problems, the Blackhall Gaels clubman claims that competition for places was as fierce as ever. "For the first time in seven years, I struggled to get my place on the starting team and that was due mainly to the new lads coming in. They wanted to be in the team which meant that the established players couldn't afford to be complacent. Whatever happens in the next few months, I'm sure Meath will have a bright future with these young fellas coming through." Though he initially broke onto the Meath panel in 1995, Nestor wasn't involved in the following year's All-Ireland success. That disappointment was quickly forgotten about, however, when he made a memorable championship debut at wing back against Dublin in 1997. Nestor has since played in a variety of positions for Meath, including half back, midfield and half forward. He is the holder of one All-Ireland medal (1999), two Leinster medals (1999 and 2001) and a Railway Cup memento (2001). At club level, he has garnered two intermediate championship medals with his beloved Blackhall Gaels (1998 and 2001). 2003 saw them claim a first ever Keegan Cup success although Nigel was suspended for the final. When he's not playing football, Nigel Nestor is a Technical Sales Manager with Kingspan Insulation, covering the entire Leinster area. Kingspan Insulation specialise in the solution of insulation problems and offer the widest range of insulants available from any UK or Irish manufacturer. 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