McMahon taking it one day at a time

As defending champions, Ratoath know that they are there to be knocked off their perch. They are the ones that everyone wants to beat and while some went close to shocking the Keegan Cup holders captain Bryan McMahon is delighted with how the team has responded to the challenge of being champions.

"It certainly does seem to be the case that it can be tougher to defend a title that win it first time," McMahon told the Meath Chronicle.

"Everyone wants to take out the winners so there is a target on our back obviously, but it has been just one of those years and Gaeil Colmcille are probably the only team who have been flying it.

"We are still trying to get things going, it has been a bit of a weird year so we are just happy to get there and we are still digging out results, that's the main thing.

"We had a great year last year and we are trying to carry everything we learned last year through to this year, it's a case of building on last year as much as we can and then bring the new lads through who have added to it.

"We have to get the mix of last year's team and the new lads right, there's been a good combination of dogging it out in games and some decent football at times, we know we need to be at our best against Gaeil Colmcille.

"We have full confidence in ourselves. Winning is a habit, we just have to make sure we are winning at the right time of the game.

"We would rather to win our games more comprehensively than we have done, I'm sure it isn't doing the spectators any good, but we are relatively calm on the pitch," said McMahon.

Looking back at their successful 2019 campaign one of the toughest games Ratoath endured on that journey was their semi-final victory over Gaeil Colmcille and McMahon is fully aware of the challenge the Kells men will provide next Sunday.

"They'll be tough. They have proven again this year that they are a quality side. Every year they come back stronger, they have been flying after beating Dunboyne and Na Fianna," said the Ratoath captain.

"They are in great form, they have their big guns playing well, so we will have to match their intensity. They always bring hard work and high intensity so we will have to match them on that front and see where it leaves us."

Being the defending champions brings a certain amount of pressure and with the club's senior hurlers also planning for a SHC final against Trim on 11th October McMahon admits that he is aware of talk of the double, but he insists the players are paying no attention to it.

"Some people are talking about it, but we don't really take any notice of it. Some people are starting to hype it up, but everything has come around so quick that we haven't really had a chance to reflect on what we have been doing so far," said McMahon.

"Having games week-in and week-out has certainly helped, it has made it feel like a short campaign.

"We are just keeping that mindset going, we don't look at any game as our last game of the year, we just want to keep going and keep playing games together week-in and week-out, not everyone gets the chance to play in a county final, never mind two of them one week after an other.

"We know we are in a privileged position, but we are not hyping it up the way some others are trying to, we just want to try to do our jobs and see where it takes us.

"With crowds not allowed into games we are a closed camp in terms of training, so it's not as if we are hearing talk of a double everywhere," concluded McMahon.