Key card in Royal flush
November 30, 2007
There are certain players that revel in the media limelight, want as much exposure as possible and get more satisfaction out of reading Monday morning's headlines than running out onto the Croke Park turf for a championship encounter. Caoimhín King does not tumble into this category, however, and the Dunshaughlin clubman is quite content to do his talking on the pitch.
It is hard to believe that King has just turned 22 and made his championship debut a little over two years ago against Dublin but since that clash he has become a permanent fixture in the half-back line and his performances in 2007 saw him mature into one of the best wing-backs in the modern game.
The season past marked the third different manager that King has played under since emerging onto the senior stage and after guiding the Royals to their longest stay in the race for All-Ireland honours, King heaped praise on the contribution of current boss Colm Coyle and the professional approach he brought to the fray.
"The year as a whole was very positive but it was just a pity that we let ourselves down against Cork. If we had even given Cork a game and been bet fair and square by three or fours points, it would have been an okay end to a great year but the way were bet was a very disappointing way to end things," King said.
"There was a great mood in the camp from day one. Everybody really enjoyed the training and I think because Colm (Coyle) is still relatively young, he understood what players were going through and wanted to make it as enjoyable as possible.
"We did an awful lot of things together as a group and bonded well together. Something which had been missing in other years. Even the trips to Portugal and places like that ensured that everybody became friends and it is a much better environment when players are comfortable with each other.
"This was my third year in the set-up and it was the first year that I thought there was a totally professional approach. We had the best of facilities between gyms and swimming pools and everything that could have been done to help us was done," he added.
As well as having an extended summer of championship football, Meath also succeeded in annexing league honours with victory over Roscommon in late April and King believes that piece of silverware gave them a confidence booster entering into the Leinster championship.
The league proved to be the perfect learning curve for a side that was still getting to grips with their trade and King singled out the heavy loss to Wexford, which almost cost them their spot in the knockout stages, as the turning point in the campaign.
"While many people might write off the league as a non-event, for us this year the league was one of the key elements behind our improvement and it helped us create a winning mentality. We began to get into the winning habit and that is something which is very hard to get.
"I suppose looking back on the year, the turning point was the game against Wexford in the league when we were badly beaten. Usually when you suffer a defeat like that, a manager would tell lads to forget about it and concentrate on the next game but Colm made us go through what went wrong and that was a huge help for everybody involved.
"We showed drastic improvement against Monaghan in the semi-final and to win a game in Croke Park was a huge help. Then we went on to beat Roscommon in the final and it was great to win something, no matter what it is, it is always nice to win things.
"The league campaign gave us great confidence going into the championship and we knew going into the first game against Kildare that there was plenty of improvement in us and we could go a long way in the All-Ireland," the Dunshaughlin clubman remarked.
So what about the championship itself? King unlike many Meath fans was not surprised by the improvement shown as the campaign progressed and was keen to stress that both the management team and players expected to stamp their authority on the championship from day one.
After a bit of a non-event against Kildare, Dublin entered the ring and despite throwing some decent punches in the drawn game, the Dubs dished out the knockout blow in the closing stages of the replay and King admitted that himself and his colleagues were bitterly disappointed in the aftermath of the loss.
"When we drew with Dublin, the public seemed to be very surprised with the performance but we weren't surprised at all and we felt we had a team capable of beating Dublin.
"Colm was not one of these fella's who set small targets. He installed a belief into every player and we had big estimations at the start of the year. I suppose that is why we were so disappointed after the second Dublin game as we felt that they were there for the taking.
"But we didn't let that defeat knock us down and the following day we went to Bettystown and the entire panel was there and everybody was on time and I think that showed that we didn't want to peter out of the championship like in other years," he said.
It was the same old story for Meath fans in July as they trudged to places like Newry and Portlaoise in the qualifiers but this group of players wrote a new chapter into their tale of qualifying adventures by seeing off Fermanagh, Down and Galway to set up a quarter-final date with Tyrone.
It was the first time that a Meath side had successfully negotiated the back door route since it's arrival and King was in no doubt as to what was the toughest game in the en-route to the last eight. Fermanagh in Pairc Tailteann.
"The win over Fermanagh in the qualifiers was a big, big result for us and I don't think the spectators at the match realised how tough a game it was. Fermanagh are a really hard team to beat and we had to produce a dogged performance and in the end we just did enough to go through," King revealed.
As Royal followers emerged out onto Jones Road after causing a major upset against Tyrone, they could have been excused for still being in a state of shock but King is eager to prove that the result was no fluke and believes the only way to do so is by following it up by a few more victories over the 'bigger teams' next season.
"The win against Tyrone was very special. We were very confident going into that game and on the day everything went right for us and we produced what we are capable of. That display proved that we are up there with the best teams around.
"But there is no point in having one good performance and then not following it on and we have to prove next year that 2007 wasn't a fluke and that we are back among the big boys.
"Hopefully next year with a bit of luck we will be able to put up a big showing in the Leinster Championship and put an end to Dublin's domination of it. It will be tough as they will be going for four-in-a-row but our first aim at the beginning of next years championship will be win the Leinster title and I think we will give Dublin a good run for their money."
The performances of the 'experienced' members of the side was a key component behind Meath's prolonged stay in the race for Sam Maguire and King was not underestimating their contribution and is hoping they will give it another shot next year.
"The older members of the team like Darren (Fay), Graham (Geraghty) and Anthony (Moyles) put in a huge effort all year and I think some of the younger lads like myself saw how much they were putting in and we tried to double our efforts as a result.
" I have no doubt that those lads will come back again next year as I think they saw this year that there is something there and the currently crop of players are well capable of winning something," King concluded.
With expectations now risen to their loftiest heights in over six years, Meath will find it tough to meet those demands in the forthcoming campaign but if all the players can adopt the same attitude and professionalism as King, the Royals are sure to frighten the best of sides when the championship swings into motion next May.
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