For Westmeath supremo Brendan Lowry the process of preparing his team for Sunday's preliminary round tie against Carlow has been problematic. Sideshows threaten to distract from the main event.
Having recovered from the ugly scenes which marred their league clash with Wicklow last February - the only reminder is the fate of midfielder Rory O'Connell, who goes before the Games Administration Committee tomorrow night - Lowry now finds himself at odds with the Leinster Council fixtures mandarins. They have decreed that Westmeath play a senior championship match six days before their under-21 side play Kerry in the All-Ireland final.
The upshot is that four of the under-21s - Fergal Murray, Aidan Canning, David O'Shaughnessy and Des Dolan - have been named on the senior side for Sunday's game and will therefore play two crucial matches in the space of six days. Lowry argues: "I wish the powers that be would open their eyes and realise that this is just too much of a burden to place on young players.
"They obviously don't view us as a major football county because I believe this would not have happened elsewhere." Despite his apprehension about the demands on a portion of his team, Lowry remains upbeat about his team's chances. "I think that all in all the league was quite good. We were very unfortunate not to gain promotion.
"We didn't get the bounce of a ball in a couple of matches. The team played well against Kerry and then we went and had a fellow sent off for two yellow card offences. In the Roscommon game we were beaten by a point. We need to play against the better counties to extend the players. But it is a difficult situation in that to do that you need to get promotion and we didn't.
"I honestly believe that we are just as good as any county in Leinster on our day. The problem is that we have to prove this. For the players it is a case of dealing with the pressure of the occasion and still producing good football. The sign of a good team is the ability to function in a pressure-cooker atmosphere."
Like his counterparts throughout Ireland, Lowry wants nothing more than to get through the first game. "There's a fear factor about the first round. Everyone has worked so hard but are not sure how things are going to turn out. Look at Galway; they wouldn't have been many people's fancy at the start but they won the All-Ireland.
"It's going to be very tough on Sunday. Carlow will have trained just as hard. At this stage I can't ask anymore from the players. They have worked and trained hard and hopefully the signs of that will be evident in the match."
