Any doubts about the esteem that the club delegates of Meath hold Sean Boylan in were emphatically dispelled in early November when the long-serving senior football team manager was returned to serve a remarkable 22nd successive team in the Royal County hot seat. Boylan saw off the latest challenge from Dunshaughlin manager Eamonn Barry, which wasn't a big surprise, but the extent of the Dunboyne man's victory in the vote was as he won huge support, outvoting the former Walterstown player by 69 votes to 19. Those represented extraordinary statistics in another way. Some 88 delegates voted, which is the total of Boylan's championship matches as Meath manager, the Royal County were unbeaten in 69 of those outings and they suffered 19 defeats. An amazing coincidence. The margin of victory clearly represented an overwhelming vote of confidence in Boylan, despite the fact that Meath haven't exactly enjoyed good fortune over the past couple of seasons, suffering successive defeats in the race for the All-Ireland title, against Donegal in 2002 and Fermanagh in '03, after which many people felt it was time for a change of manager. However, the clearcut nature of Boylan's victory over Barry, the man who guided Dunshaughlin to three successive Meath Senior Championship successes between 2000 and 2002 and a wonderful Leinster Club triumph in the latter year, undoubtedly suggests that there are many people who believe he is the man to guide Meath back onto the glory trail. The Meath supporters have become accustomed to success under Boylan's amazing reign as Royal County manager and even a relatively short spell without any sort of championship silverware appears to be regarded as simply not good enough by many. But Boylan can head into 2004 at least happy in the knowledge that the vast majority of Co. Board delegates are satisfied that he can work wonders once again. It should, of course, be remembered that it's only a little over two years ago that he guided Meath to the All-Ireland final, absolutely taking Kerry apart at the penultimate hurdle in the process, and that he has been forced into a process of introducing new players to the team. And it should also be appreciated that he wasn't exactly blessed with good fortune on the injury front in the last championship campaign. However, 2004 surely presents Boylan with his greatest challenge to date, but the man who guided the Royal County out of the football wilderness and went on to lead them to four All-Ireland senior titles, eight Leinster Championships, three National Leagues and a Centenary Cup success during the greatest era in the county's GAA history is ready to face up to that challenge. When Meath exited the championship against Fermanagh during the summer there was plenty of talk about the end of that Boylan era. Naturally, the name of Barry was top of many people's lists of possible replacements, especially as he had persued the position in the past and had enjoyed so much success with Dunshaughlin on the club scene. Therefore, few could have envisaged the runaway nature of Boylan's victory over the former highly talented forward who racked up some phenomenal scoring tallies during a highly successful playing career with Walterstown. Boylan himself was very surprised that the vote went his way in such an emphatic manner. "I was taken very much by surprise at the clearcut nature of the vote," he acknowledged as he prepared to set out on yet another adventure with a Meath football team. "I have to say that I honestly thought Eamonn would get it. "As a result, I wasn't really prepared for the job again. But I have certainly done a lot of thinking since and I also talked to Eamonn. I think it's important that somebody runs against you. It allows the delegates to discuss the whole thing and I believe that's very important." Boylan fully understands that there were those in the county who felt that after the championship loss to Fermanagh in 2003 it might well be time for somebody else to take over and guide the fortunes of the team. "I can easily understand that people would have expected me to opt out after the championship defeat against Fermanagh," he added. "But I just take it year by year. But it hasn't been all bad since we won the All-Ireland in 1999. We got to a National League final and an All-Ireland final. "People have come to expect more, but you always have to think of the players above all else. After all, they are the ones who have to go out and play the game. On the day, on the field, the players have to do it. "Things aren't going well, but I'm certainly not going to run away from it. I have to face up to it now that I got the job again. "We had a lot of young players in 2003 and we had our injury problems which didn't help. We have to try to get the balance right." Boylan has had many great moments and many great achievements during his extradodinary stint at the helm of the Meath senior football team, but one of his most remarkable feats was guiding a team with so many new faces to All-Ireland success in 1996, especially following the 10-point hammering the Royal County had suffered at the hands of Dublin the previous year which many thought would definitely signal the end of his term in charge. The hope now will be that he can work another of his near miracles and bring the glory days back. "I know that there hasn't been much in the way of success at under-age level in recent times, but there are some very good young players in the county," Boylan said. "As for the 1996 success, it's not every year that you come across players like Mark O'Reilly, Darren Fay, Paddy Reynolds, Ollie Murphy, etc. They were exceptional young players. You can look back on counties that have had wonderful teams and never won anything." Every team needs an experienced base to have a realistic chance of gaining championship honours and, while Boylan introduced several young newcomers for that '96 triumph, there were hardened and vastly experienced men around them who played a huge role in what was a truly memorable success. "I'm happy that the core of experience is there to go with the young players," Boylan added. "I can remember in '96 talking to Martin O'Connell and Colm Coyle and telling them to do their thing. That's what you have to do." Ulster counties are threatening to take something of a stranglehold on the Sam Maguire Cup, with Armagh successful in 2002 and Tyrone triumphing in 2003, while the province also enjoyed a glorious period of supremacy in the first half of the '90s. "I remember after we beat Donegal in the All-Ireland semi-final in 1990 some people were saying that no Ulster team was going to win it," Boylan recalled. "Look what happened after that. Ulster's turn has come again and the same will happen for Leinster." Clearly, after a phenomenal 21 years as Meath manager, Boylan has seen it all and done it all, yet he retains a great passion for the position. He was there in Pairc Tailteann on a crisp November day watching two under-21 finals and talking with the same infectious enthusiasm for the job that has always been one of his trademarks. Unless that passion and enthusiasm was still there it would undoubtedly be impossible for any man to spend so many unbroken years at the helm. "I still get a great buzz from it, very much so," said the man who took his first tentative steps into the position way back in the autumn of 1982 when Meath football was at a very low ebb on the inter-county front. "It can be very demanding at times, but no matter what you do in life you have to make sacrifices." Sean Boylan was given an overwhelming vote of confidence in early November and he was undoubtedly delighted by that. He's ready for the task at hand. It will take a lot of work on and off the field and a bit of luck as well. But why should he be doubted - he's seen it all and done it all before. Tweet

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