So, Trevor Giles. Was it really as bad as that at the start of Meath's season? Well, he ponders, it wasn't great. Relegated in the League, bad challenge results. Nothing, of course, to make you panicky.

Now with an All-Ireland final coming up, nothing more than a retrospective curiosity after an epic campaign of six matches - half of them against Westmeath.

When does he think it turned? "Ah well, we're always competitive generally, you know. If Ollie (Murphy) hadn't got the goal against Westmeath, we would have lost by three points having played poorly and we'd have been saying, 'there's a chance we missed'.

"You're always going to be competitive and the fact you've been successful twice before means you're capable of it."

Although the season's highest-profile task was the slightly weird semi-final trimming of champions Kerry, it's been an interesting journey of improvement for the Leinster champions.

Bit by bit, fitness and appetite have returned together with the renowned team focus. Key players with many miles behind them have gradually become sharper and more finely honed.

Giles himself has had a difficult 12 months. A back injury was aggravated in the International Rules series last October and it took months for the subsequently diagnosed disc trouble to settle. For someone of his immense reputation, it's been a quiet summer. He accepts the judgement but stresses its relativity when assessing his form.

"Improving I think. That was my best, second half more so. When you've been Footballer of the Year once or twice your standards are high and people judge you and you have to be tremendous for them to say you're playing well. Having said that, the first round all I did was kick the frees.

Against Kildare, I kicked the penalty and a couple of frees. Against Dublin I made more of a contribution. Since then I've been getting a bit more into the games and got the work-rate up."

The famous work-rate has indeed been upped. The replayed quarter- final against Westmeath saw Giles step forward.

A man down since early in the match, Meath needed to concentrate at the back and be calm in attack. Their captain got on to a lot of ball and used it as he does at his best. On the team's grafting half-forward line, he is the pivot - the point where artisan meets artist. The game's leading play-maker, he's not entirely sure how to describe his role.

"I'm probably more a natural half back. I like to be out around the field tackling fellas. I don't get close enough to the goals for a centre forward maybe. I should. You know, I don't score enough.

"I'm accurate, but I don't get into the positions. I suppose the half- forward line should provide a fair amount of the energy on a team, tackling and putting the opposition under pressure. Probably my main role or an important one is kicking the frees."

Outsiders would see Meath's football community as a phlegmatic bunch, slow to harass players going through bad phases but equally uncomfortable about getting too impressed. Giles says the massive win over Kerry hasn't unbalanced the judgement of the county.

"Newer supporters get carried away but the people who know their football would remind you about 1966 when Meath hammered Down and got beaten by six points by Galway. Or 1991 when the county had a great run.

"You'd like to think you learn from the past and history. It doesn't mean you're going to win but you'd hope to learn."

If he doesn't, no one will.

Trevor Giles

Age: 26

Height: 5ft 11ins

Weight: 11st 12lbs

Honours: All-Ireland SFC 1996 and 1999, All Star 1997, 1999. Footballer of the Year 1996 and 1999