Meet the players at Pairc Tailteann on Friday night

Meath GAA Co Board chairman Barney Allen has called on Meath people to get behind the football team as the countdown gets underway in earnest to the crunch Leinster SFC encounter with Wicklow on Sunday 27th May. Allen's rallying call comes ahead of a 'meet and greet' event on Friday night when supporters are invited to Pairc Tailteann, 8.0 to meet members of the Meath football team. "This is an opportunity for children and their parents to get out and see the team train and for the youngsters to meet their favourite players," Allen told the Meath Chronicle. The event is part of a new initiative introduced by the GAA with the various county boards to organise the nights. "People should get behind the team and nights like this will encourage supporters to go to the championship matches and help the fall-off in supporters going to games ," he added. The fall in attendances, has according to Allen been a general trend across the country in recent years and needs to be addressed. "Something like this might help to improve attendances at matches." Allen is somewhat alarmed at the decline in the number of Meath supporters attending games and he admitted that the Royal County were "outnumbered" by in recent NFL Div 2 game against Louth at Pairc Tailteann recently. "That shouldn't be happening," he added. He's hoping that the team can find some much-needed confidence ahead of the confrontation with the Garden County that has, in the light of recent events, taken on a whole new significance. "We're coming from a position where the confidence of the players has been very low in the last three matches." The decline in the number of Meath supporters underlines the difficulties the team has faced this year with political in-fighting in the public gaze doing little to lift morale. The Co Board chairman said that the addition of John Evans could provide the team with a timely boost. Evans was on the sideline for Meath's challenge with Westmeath on Monday and he was busy issuing instructions to players. "He's a new voice and at times players need a new voice in the dressing room and that might be a good thing." It was also confirmed by the Co Board chairman that the expenses incurred by Evans' inclusion is included in the original management cost strucure agreed at Seamus McEnaney's appointment which is believed to be €11,000 a month. The Meath footballers as well as hurlers will be available to talk to the public and media on Friday night.