Mark McHugh has challenged his Westmeath players to go on and win Leinster after their surprise quarter-final win over Meath.

The Lake County men make a mockery of the pre-match odds to claim a stunning 4-18 to 0-25 victory over the recently-crowned Allianz League Division 2 champions.

“Everybody's saying Leinster's wide open. Meath were, I think, 82 per cent in the polls during the week, that they were going to win. They’re out now, so does that mean we're 82pc in the polls? Is that the way it works? No,” the 2012 Donegal All-Ireland SFC winner told reporters at Glenisk O’Connor Park.

“I don’t think I would have come down if I didn’t (believe Westmeath could win Leinster). I'm travelling up three and four hours, three or four times a week, and that's because I believe in that dressing-room. And I believe in the squad, I believed that we'd beat [Meath] today. So if we can beat Meath, why can't we not win Leinster?

“And I've said that from day one to the lads. They need to start writing their own history, these boys, and not be looking back on quarter-final wins or semi-final wins. We had one unbelievable year in Westmeath history, and we want to get back there and give people more days like this.

"And fully believe that we can do anything as a squad.” 

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