Hectic schedule for Neil Cole

Trim manager Neil Cole is facing a hectic weekend as he explained to FERGAL LYNCH ahead of the SHC final on Sunday.

In between everything else he has on his plate, Neil Cole has the small matter of trying to break Kiltale's stranglehold on the Jubilee Cup and guide Trim to their first SHC title since 2001.

Next weekend promises to be one of the busiest of the year for the former Rathmolyon player as he takes charge of Trim in both the senior and minor final on Sunday, 24 hours after he plays for Trim in the JHC final on Saturday.

However, Cole, who was also the Meath minor hurler manager this year as well as being involved with a few other under-age teams in Trim, thinks that everything is in place to allow him treble-job.

"It is going to be a busy weekend. Looking from the outside people might think I'm crazy being involved in so much, but I have had busier times during the year," Cole told the Meath Chronicle.

"I know the three games this weekend have the added pressure of being finals, but I'm really enjoying it.

"I hope I'll play some part in the junior final on Saturday, but that is an experienced team with lads like Joey Toole and Leighton Massey driving them on. CJ Murtagh is the manager and while I train them, I don't train with them because I don't have time.

"We also have the minors in a final on Sunday at 1pm and the senior game is at 3.30pm so the logistics are okay, so hopefully everything is in order."

While the other two games will offer a welcome distraction, there is no doubting the Jubilee Cup final against Kiltale will retain Cole's main focus as he attempts to bridge a 17-year gap since Trim last won the SHC.

So does he feel the weight of expectation to lead one of the superpowers of Meath hurling back to the winners enclosure for the first time since 2001?

"I don't think the fact that we haven't won since 2001 brings any added pressure to this group of players. None of these lads had any association with the team in 2001, so they are not dwelling on 17 years ago, they are focused on what they want to achieve for themselves," said the Trim manager.

"For me, I don't look back to the final defeat four years ago either, for me our motivation is to win on Sunday, but in some lads heads they might want to make amends for the disappointment of losing in 2014.

"When you lose any final you look forward to getting another crack at the team that beat you, to try to right the wrong, not that Trim can have any complaints about losing in 2014, they were beaten by the better team.

"There are a good few players still involved from four years ago, but there are also a lot of new players on the panel since then, so we have a good mix.

"A lot of younger players have come through in the last couple of years and have made an impact. Lads like Charlie Ennis, Ger Dwane and Cian Lee, who plays soccer with St Patrick's Athletic and Republic of Ireland schoolboys is only 18 years old, have come in and done well.

"Those lads are all committed, dedicated and great hurlers, then we have others like Peter Farrell and Brian Dowling who have made the breakthrough and James Cullen who are all only 21 and 22. The oldest lad we have is Tommy Farrell and he's probably just 30, so we have a young panel.

"We have a good mix of youth, but the real younger lads have brought a youthful swagger and enthusiasm to the whole set up, so that has been great."

Backboned by so many youngsters Trim supporters could be forgiven for thinking that this run to final has come a year or two earlier than expected, but Cole believes the tough games in Group B of the SHC have stood to his players.

"When I took on this job last year it was all about development, it wasn't to be winning a championship this year, we were aiming to progress this year," he said.

"However, the players have been really focused and driven and we have had a good few chats throughout the year.

"We quickly realised that every week and every second week we were getting stronger and stronger, so they pushed themselves harder and they have been really putting it in at training.

"The tough games in Group B did stand to us. I have no regrets from the year and how it went because we were missing lads throughout the campaign. 

“For one of the championship games we had a very bare squad, with only one substitute who had played senior hurling before.

"We have plenty of numbers now and numbers are up at training, so it is all good and while Group B was tough I believe it might have made us stronger. 

"It is a lot easier when you have a strong panel, as well as having two county lads like Neil Heffernan and Mikey Cullen coming back. They're not 100 per cent, but they'll be a bit closer by the time the final comes around.

"There are no easy decisions to be made for the final, but we'll see how training goes and if someone is showing better than others then it gives us a headache when it comes to team selection, but that's a good headache to have."

So what about Kiltale?

How does Cole plan to stop the drive for five?

The Trim manager accepts his side are underdogs, but that's how he likes it and he certainly believes that his players can make a name for themselves by the time 5pm rolls around next Sunday evening.

"I don't mind people writing us off. They're coming off winning the championship four years in-a-row and pushing Leinster hard, whereas we didn't make it to the quarter-finals last year and had to come through Group B this year.

"We are at opposite ends of the scale, but we will do our best.

"Between myself, Declan Murray, Rory Dowling and Darren O'Connor we will work hard with the team.

"We have seen Kiltale play for years, so it is not just about looking how they played last Sunday. We know they are a dangerous side, great players all over the field and they have more experience.

"It is down to the lads and how they approach the game. We might need a bit of luck, but there are a few things we will have to work on and we hope to make it difficult for Kiltale

and see where that takes us.

"These are good times for Trim hurling and hopefully after next weekend they'll be great times," concluded the Trim manager.