Fenton believes Heslin return unlikely
Former midfielder says Dubs should win comfortably
Retired Dublin star Brian Fenton has poured cold water on speculation that John Heslin will be back with the Westmeath side for Sunday's Leinster senior football final at Croke Park.
Fenton, an outstanding midfielder, won seven All-Ireland titles and six All-Star awards and is friendly with Heslin having played alongside the former Westmeath star in during their college days in UCD. Fenton described the rumours as nothing more than “hype” and believes Westmeath manager Mark McHugh is just using Heslin in training to make in-house games more competitive and replicate the kind of challenge Con O’Callaghan will pose in Sunday’s final.
Heslin told Fenton: 'I was just kicking a few balls for the lads'.
Fenton believes a return is most unlikely: “I'd be very surprised to see him; that would be a huge, huge surprise, but I wouldn't write it off.”
The Westmeath panel for Sunday's Leinster final has yet to be confirmed.
Fenton praised Westmeath's displays to date and pointed to Sam McCartan as a "great player". He said an exciting contest is possible, but fears the occasion could get to Westmeath.
Overall, the former Dubs midfielder gives Westmeath very little chance of toppling the blues on Sunday, suggesting Croke Park will present a very different challenge for McHugh’s men. Westmeath have enjoyed two fine victories over Meath and Kildare in Tullamore, but Croke Park is a completely different stadium and the Leinster final occasion will present different challenges for Westmeath, Fenton feels.
“If they bring a bit of chaos and bring a bit of magic and get maybe key scores at key times, I can see them putting a game to Dublin, but based on looking at two teams on paper objectively, Dublin should win comfortably,” he said.
Westmeath are 5/1 outsiders on Sunday, with Dublin 1/8 favourites to lift the Delany Cup once again. It comes after Meath toppled them in the semi-final last year to end a glorious run that brought 14 successive Leinster titles.
Despite Fenton’s opinion, the mood remains upbeat and positive in Westmeath with up to 20,000 supporters expected to make the trip to Croke Park.