O'Rourke talks Louth, Portugal, patience, injuries and Inniskeen ahead of Saturday's All-Ireland SFC opener

As part of their preparations for the start of the All-Ireland SFC series against Louth, Kerry and Monaghan, Meath played Cavan and Roscommon in behind-closed-doors challenges and produced decent performances.

However O'Rourke insists that patience is still the key when it comes to expectations for this Meath team.

Meath are still lacking in experience, but the games in the All-Ireland SFC series should be a huge boost.

"These (challenge games against Cavan and Roscommon) gave us great chances to see lads in action," said the manager.

"We've played a big number of fellas, we have fellas coming back from injury and we've a lot of lads now putting their hands up for a place on the team against Louth.

"Roscommon have probably as good a forward line as most other teams, maybe it's been their defence that has let them down, but we could see from the game tonight they have power and pace.

"The experience of playing top class football, Div 1 football over a number of years, has really stood to them. Div 1 is where it's really at, there's a higher level of speed and everything about it, plus the fact they're normally mature teams with the bulk of their players between 25 and 30 and with several years experience.

"It was brought home to me very much against Donegal in the league this year. There was a feature on Ciarán Thompson in the programme and he was playing his 98th game for Donegal.

"Then you had Peadar Mogan, Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Jack McKelvey, Caolan McGonagle and Patrick McBrearty and a whole host of other fellas, who, a lot of them, had played over 100 games for Donegal and we were looking at our list and fellas hadn't played 10 games, that's the difference.

"We can't buy that type of experience, it will come with time, again, patience is the only way forward."

As part of their preparations for the All-Ireland series Meath spent a few days on a warm weather intensive training camp in Portugal and O'Rourke believes it was certainly a worthwhile exercise in helping the team recover from the heavy loss to Dublin in the Leinster SFC quarter-final.

"It (the break since the Leinster SFC semi-final) did give an opportunity to draw breath but we worked very very hard in those few days in Portugal.

"The lads really trained hard, it was very much a monastic existence for them. We were in a place in the middle of nowhere, there was no distractions.

"We got on with it day after day after day, we worked hard on tactics, we worked hard on everything and it was of course measured to the nth degree by Barry Horgan who is brilliant at that sort of thing, so it was great. "For five days the lads lived the life of a professional footballer and they enjoyed it immensely."

O'Rourke has revealed a near clean bill of health ahead of Saturday's opening game against Louth, but revealed that Jordan Morris is likely to miss out with a knee problem, while Shane Walsh is a long term absentee with a broken metatarsal.

"Jordan Morris has had problems with his knee. It's been a continuous problem since he had the operation back before Christmas.

"Shane Walsh broke the metatarsal bone and he had that pinned a month ago so both of them are likely to be out.

"There are other sorts of knocks but most of the rest I think will be available for selection.

"He (Jordan Morris) has had issues with his knee and he's working very hard to get back so we'll be hopeful that we'll have him for some of the games."

It has been suggested that some more of the Leinster u-20 FC winning side could be drafted in to join Brian O'Halloran, John O'Regan and Jack Kinlough, but O'Rourke is eager for those players to progress and mature with time.

"Brian O'Halloran of course had a shoulder injury which he got in the Laois game for the under-20s and he's only getting over it. Jack Kinlough and John O'Regan both came back with shoulder injuries to us so neither of them are able to play.

"I'm a great believer in allowing players to play at their own level for as long as they can. Obviously we dipped into the under 20s last year and brought up six of them and we have three from the present crew.

"A lot of the best lads there just need time and it's too often in the past I've seen young lads being stepped up too quickly and then maybe they lose their confidence and they get lost, so I would prefer to take players along quietly.

"From my years in education patience with young people is the key. When you look at the top class county teams none of them have under-20s playing or very very few.

"I know Derry did it last year with one or two but in reality very few teams have under-20 players. They allow them to mature and you have to be 22, 23 really before you're fit for the physical demands of inter-county football."

In the past week there have been concerns raised about the ability of Inniskeen to cope with the demand for tickets for such a huge game between Meath and Louth.

However, O'Rourke is happy with Louth's choice of 'home' venue and he is sure there will be a cracking atmosphere for the lucky few who get tickets.

"I'm sure if you don't get a ticket for the game you probably won't be too happy but for me Inniskeen is a beautiful venue, I know it well, gorgeous place, good facility, great stand, great pitch and we are very happy to be going there.

"I think it will have a unique atmosphere of its own. If you take the league matches as a guide there are very few games that Inniskeen wouldn't have been able to host so I think most Meath supporters, the vast majority of the genuine supporters, will get in and they wouldn't worry about that," he concluded.