New Westmeath manager Brendan Hackett admits his new-look team will be up against it in tomorrow's NFL opener against Donegal.

Whereas Donegal have started the season by retaining the Dr McKenna Cup, Westmeath have struggled in the O'Byrne Cup where they lost to both DCU and Wexford.

"Donegal are a well established league team and have also reached a number of All-Ireland quarter-finals in recent years, so we know they're a serious outfit," Hackett said in the Westmeath Independent.

"They also have the advantage of their management knowing their players very well, something we are just getting used to at the moment. Their run in the Dr McKenna Cup shows their strength and class, so it's a very difficult opening match for us.

"Our preparations have been very short and we've really only had six proper training sessions with the players, something I have major difficulty with, but that's the situation we're dealing with at the moment. It's going to be tough for us, especailly with a good few untried players at inter-county level, but we'll be doing our very best against a very formidable Donegal team."

The Monaghan native continued: "In the short-term, people will be looking for us to consolidate and stay in Division 2, but that's going to be a difficult ask with so many changes. We are very much in a process of transition and it takes time.

"My medium-term ambition is to do well in this year's championship and I have to say, having worked closely with the under 21 team in recent weeks, the long-term would appear very promising."

Meanwhile, it's believed Westmeath's 2004 Leinster SFC winning captain David O'Shaughnessy has retired from inter-county football after being plagued by injury in recent years. Tweet

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