Major decision to be made by Andrews after the break

Meath hurlers, like their footballing counterparts, don"t have another competitive game until early next year. Colm Coyle will not be around to take charge of the footballers. Will John Andrews be at the helm when the time comes for the hurlers to return to the fray? The Trim man was given a two-year term last year, but he was not committing himself one way or the other after Saturday"s win over Roscommon. 'I don"t know if I will stay on or not, I"m not making any decisions just now. I will take a break, come back and think about it then,' he said. 'I can"t make a decision either way at the moment, I mightn"t be wanted back, I don"t know. We"ll see,' he added with a smile. Overall it has been a disappointing year for the manager who added that it"s a very thin line between success and failure. He pointed to the Westmeath scenario where, like Meath, they won one game in their group phase yet they have made it to the final while the Royal County endured sharply contrasting fortunes. Andrews had some strong criticism for the decision by the powers-that-be in Croke Park in the way they tinkered with the Christy Ring Cup, leaving the teams with less games than last year. 'They made a mess of the Ring Cup this year. It was a great competition last year, we got four games of meaningful hurling,' he said. 'Teams had good hurling in the summer and that"s what the Christy Ring was designed for but they cut it and cut two games in the league, a quarter-final and group game. 'The powers-that-be in Croke Park want an elitist group, the top eight in Division 1, that"s what they want. 'All the counties I"ve spoken to are of the same opinion, that they made a mess of the Christy Ring. I"ve a lot of connections up the north and they"re the same, they"re all very disappointed with the treatment. 'The people who made these decisions included a man from Kilkenny, a Tipperary man and a Clareman. 'What do they know about our level of hurling? 'They never asked anyone at our level about these decisions and that"s disappointing. They"re not asking what we think, all they want is the elite eight and that"s it.' Looking back on the season Andrews says that at the start of the year he had asked for total commitment from the players and got it. The support was there from the Hurling Committee, he added. He pointed to a training sessions last Tuesday and Thursday nights when there was 'twenty three lads togged out'. The players who were suspended and injured were also there. 'I was just amazed that we had everyone there, it just goes to show what they think of Meath hurling, and of each other as a team and as a squad, that"s very positive. 'Nicky Horan said to me they"re all here, they want to do it. All the players conducted themselves well, they"re the major positives, they are great lads to work with.' Andrews added that the break between the NHL and the start of the championship was 'ridiculous', extending to over 12 weeks. He compared this to teams in the top division who only had a break of four weeks. Regrets? He had a few. Maybe, he says, he could have kicked up a bit of a fuss when the club championships got underway and players started to pick up injuries. It would have given Meath a chance to play six or seven challenges they could have done with. Overall, he felt Meath didn"t get the luck and a smile from lady luck is always something to be desired.