Westmeath need to reach higher level - Dessie Dolan

Westmeath senior football manager Dessie Dolan has admitted that consistency of performance over 70 minutes has been a major issue for his team this year.

The Lake County men are now preparing to face Louth in the Leinster SFC quarter-finals on Sunday, April 23. And it looks like a difficult assignment, with Mickey Harte's team having showed impressive form in Division 2 this year.

Looking ahead to the Louth clash after Westmeath ended their Division 3 league campaign with a win over over Tipperary, Dolan said: “We probably have been a little bit inconsistent in terms of where we want to be. At different times there were different reasons for that, but we know ourselves that we have work to do.

"When you have Louth coming up in the championship, it gives us a good focus and they will be very hard to beat. They have been very good under Mickey Harte. Mickey has them very motivated, very organised and very hard to break down.”

As for suggestions that Louth have been something of a “bogey team” for Westmeath, Dessie responded: “Ah sure, there are plenty of bogey teams but that's not the way to look at it - we'll see it as an opportunity to put in a massive performance.”

Dolan said he would like the venue for the Louth fixture to be confirmed as soon as possible - the game is listed for either Navan or Tullamore - though he described any venue preference he might have as “irrelevant”.

“The reality is that going forward we're going to be playing in a higher level of competition than the Tailteann Cup. The lads did very well in that competition last year - but that's gone; we can't live on that forever,” said Dessie.

“We're going to be playing better teams. Louth are Division 2 and then we're looking at the All-Ireland series - that is Division 1 and 2 teams. The standard we have to get to is a lot higher than what we're doing at the minute,” continued the Garrycastle clubman.

With Westmeath and Louth on the opposite side of the draw to serial Leinster champions Dublin, this year could be viewed as a great opportunity.

“We've won the Leinster once (in our history), you take nothing for granted. Dublin were on our side of the draw the year we won it. Our focus will only be on Louth,” was Dolan's response to such talk.

The winners of the Westmeath v Louth game will have just a week to prepare for a Leinster semi-final. “The Leinster championship is wedged in there to facilitate the All-Ireland series with the three group games. The games will come hot and heavy,” said Dolan.

In that regard, he is glad with the gap of four weeks between the end of the league campaign and the Louth clash.

“They are amateur players who have to factor in work. There were five games in six weeks. The preparation and analysis that goes into every game, the time they have to give, the travelling they have to do, it's phenomenal for amateurs," he said.

"The modern game has changed so much from the time I was playing. They deserve a lot of respect and, in fairness to the lads, they are never found wanting. They are always there and always committed and from that side of it, I'm delighted with them.”

As for his experiences in the job so far, Dolan said: “I've learned a lot in my time already. It's a tough job; I'm not going to lie. The demands on an inter-county manager are very tough in terms of time and managing a lot of people. But it's my own county and I'm really enjoying it. I'm learning myself and there's lots to learn in this game. Hopefully I'll improve myself and the team will improve going forward.”