Rowley wants that extra mile

Connacht SFC Semi-final replayFootball's new revolution spread into Leitrim last Sunday. The weaker county rising up to the challenge of the establishment, not because they were playing above themselves, but because they've bridged much of the gap. Leitrim drew with Roscommon in the Connacht semi-final, and appropriately enough the revolution was not televised.

On Saturday afternoon the rematch goes to Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon, this time with the television crew in tow. The obvious suggestion that Leitrim might not be able to repeat that level of performance is calmly taken on board by manager Declan Rowley.

"My first reaction after the match was that we could easily have lost it, or easily won it," he says. "But then we spent a lot of time on the video analysis on Tuesday night. And to be honest I thought we played rubbish."

This could be Rowley's way of heightening the fear in Roscommon, but on close examination he does have a case. Leitrim led by two points approaching full time and generally defended a lot more impressively during the 1-10 to 0-13 draw. But much of their possession was wasted and further improvement is possible.

"Of course it was played with real championship atmosphere and every ball seems to matter," he adds, "but when we sat back and watched it, we were very disappointed. And the team knows that themselves. There are under no illusions that they played particularly well.

"So I'd be expecting a much better performance on Saturday evening. Particularly from the forwards. Our backs did very well, and midfield worked hard, but I felt the forwards were well below what they're capable of. That leaves us with a lot of room to work on.

"But the other thing is we hadn't had a competitive game for 10 weeks. So on the law of averages there should be some improvement. Unlike Roscommon, who had two and half games under their belt, I don't think we were going at full power because of the lay-off."

The six-day crossover between draw and replay takes a natural course. After a light session on Tuesday, Rowley had his players in ice baths and on the massage table. Rehabilitation and rest was the most important thing.

Without any injury problems he was content to go with the same starting line-up as Sunday.

"They were picked on the basis that they were the best 15 players available to us. And even though they all didn't perform the way we would have liked, that same ability is there."

He has no fears either about playing on Roscommon turf this time as that's where most of the team played their underage football. What Rowley is aware of is the greater sense of expectation in Leitrim, something he feels the players can handle.

"People's perception of a team can always change very quickly. Too quickly. If you play poorly in a league game you're written off, and if you play reasonably well in the championship suddenly you're going to win a Connacht title. So there's a mid point there somewhere where we are truly at.

"I feel we are better than we showed last Sunday, especially with such a young team. At least four or five lads were getting their first taste of championship level. So there is potential there, that will take a little more time. Hopefully next Sunday we can take that potential further."

Clearly what is happening with the likes of Wexford and Westmeath in Leinster and even Limerick in Munster is a motivation for Leitrim. Rowley believes there are no major gaps anymore in inter-county football.

"Definitely the work rate and the level of professionalism is the same for every team. The gap has closed all over the place. You still have the four or five teams ahead of the pack, but that's only because of the bigger population, and maybe more skilful players at a particular time. But I'd say 75 per cent of players in every county panel are on a par.

"Still it's too easy for people to write off Leitrim just because they've a small population. And that historically they haven't done an awful lot. But I know there is a high level of fitness in this group now and some very skilled players as well.

"We know we're not the finished article, but we're moving in the right direction."

This time the cameras will be watching their every move: "Yeah, that's a new thing for a lot of these lads. And it will help them feel a little more important, which is only right. They don't get that sort of exposure too often. Of course there's always the danger some of them might get stage fright, but I think they're young and ambitions and will want to impress the nation."