John Andrews is the latest man to be handed the difficult task of improving the fortunes of the Meath senior hurling team, but the Trim club man was never afraid of challenges on the field of play and he will undoubtedly tackle this one head-on as well. Andrews' appointment to take over the position from Johnny Murray was ratified at a County Committee meeting in early November and after that it was the job of the former talented player to set about putting the structures in place that will, hopefully, see the Royal County enjoy a badly needed change of fortune. The Trim man certainly has built up plenty of experience as a player and manager over the years and the highlight of his days in the Meath jersey came at Ruislip back in 1993 when the Royal County finally achieved their goal of winning the All-Ireland SHC 'B' title by getting the better of London in the final. He was at full-back in the heart of the Meath defence on that memorable July day over 13 years ago when a team that also included such outstanding players as Mark Gannon, Paul Donnelly, captain Pat Potterton, Mike Cole, Paddy Kelly and Martin Smith put previous frustrations firmly to rest with an historic three-point triumph. It was a proud day for Andrews and his team mates when Potterton accepted the cup from then GAC chairman Sean McCague Andrews also enjoyed considerable success as a player with his beloved Trim, winning four SHC medals, while he managed the club to three Jubilee Cup triumphs. He managed the Monaghan senior team for a while and also had a spell in charge of the Meath ladies' senior football side. However, nobody will deny that the task he has taken on as manager of the Royal County senior hurlers represents a big step up and a mighty challenge, and it will take a huge amount of work on his behalf to get the house in order and bring Meath back to a position of respectability in the game. The form of the county team in 2006 wouldn't have encouraged a procession of callers to the doors of County Committee chairman Brendan Dempsey or Hurling Committee supremo TJ Reilly asking if they could be the next Meath manager. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were mixing it with the top counties in the National League, but how things have changed dramatically over the past few years - and not for the better. There have been a succession of different managers and player power was also an issue that didn't help. Johnny Murray was at the helm in 2006 and early in the year Meath - with no players from Trim or Navan O'Mahonys on the panel - were eliminated from the Kehoe Cup by holders DIT, before the National League Div. 2 campaign brought victories over Wicklow, Carlow, Derry and Roscommon and a defeat against Dublin. That form was sufficient to earn them second position in the table and a quarter-final meeting with Mayo. And that's where it all started to go wrong. Not too long ago Meath would have been expected to beat the Connacht side with ease and, while Mayo have undoubtedly improved, the reality is that they shouldn't be able to run Meath close, let alone defeat them. The quarter-final at Carrick-on-Shannon went to extra-time and ended level, but Mayo stunned Meath by winning the replay at Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon, by five points. There was absolutely no doubt about it - Meath had slumped to a new and worrying low. The Christy Ring Cup offered the chance to make amends, but instead it proved a disaster as Meath lost to London, Antrim and Down to leave themselves in danger of dropping down to the Nicky Rackard Cup competition. However, they scored the expected win over Roscommon at Pairc Tailteann in their last game of the competition and were safe. How things have gone down hill just four short years after Meath were playing their hurling in Div. 1 of the National League. Enter John Andrews, the new man on the block, and the man entrusted with the onerous task of making things better - much better. Talking to the new manager it's easy to detect the passion he has for the position and his determination to improve Meath's fortunes. As somebody who was there during far better times he clearly has a desire to restore pride into the county team and make them successful - successful enough to lift the Christy Ring Cup next summer. "Paul Donnelly and Kevin Dowd will be my selectors and they should have a good grasp of the scene," Andrews said. "The number one priority has to be to get every player who is good enough to play for Meath playing for the county. "We want them to have a desire to wear the Meath jersey and to have pride in it. The bottom line is that there are too many lads who are not playing for the county and my aim is to get them into the panel. "Hopefully, we can get them all on board and generate good team spirit and camaraderie. That's vitally important if you want to go places." Andrews was only a couple of days in the job when he was meeting his selectors and organising trials for Dunganny over three nights in late November. He had been appointed quite late in the year and he clearly wasn't wasting any time in getting things organised and putting the vital structures in place. "There are junior and intermediate clubs out there which you might never get to see playing and I feel it's very important that players from these clubs get an opportunity," he added. "I'm sure there are four, five or six players from these clubs who are capable of playing hurling for the county." Meath have undoubtedly slipped down the rankings in recent years to a position where they are struggling against counties that they might normally be expected to handle with some degree of ease. It sounds very similar to the county senior football team really. So what sort of goals will Andrews be setting for 2007? "The aim will be to consolidate our position in the National League," he revealed. "We will be using the Kehoe Cup and the National League to blood players. There is no point in bringing a lad in for one game and then not bothering to look at him again. We will give them three or four games to prove themselves. It's important to do that." Andrews thinks that the Christy Ring Cup is an outstanding competition and already he has his sights set firmly on a big day out next summer. "The aim is to win the Christy Ring Cup next year," he added. "I think it's a great competition and we will set our sights on that - to be in Croke Park on the second Sunday of August, playing before an All-Ireland senior semi-final. I firmly believe we are capable of winning it. That's a realistic goal." Getting into Croke Park on such a huge day on the hurling calendar and benefiting from the important television exposure that goes with it would represent a huge boost for hurling in the county, while winning the competition would put the icing on the cake. But that's a long way into the future and a huge amount of work lies ahead for the players and team management before Meath are in a position to challenge for such an important competition. However, Andrews truly believes that winning the Christy Ring Cup is an attainable goal - the reality being that he wouldn't have taken on the challenge if that wasn't the case. "To be absolutely honest about it, I wouldn't have taken on the job if I didn't think we could be successful, that we could win things," he said. "You have to have belief in yourself and be optimistic." Like Colm Coyle at the helm of the Meath senior football team, John Andrews was a highly committed and determined figure on the field of play who always gave it his all. His attitude to the job of managing the county hurlers will be the same - 100 per cent application to the task at hand. Andrews and his selectors, Donnelly and Dowd, have a mission to revive Meath's fortunes and they deserve the support of one and all as they go about it. Tweet

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