McEnaney doesn't believe things are any better in Meath than they were when he was in charge

Former Royal County boss Seamus McEnaney has suggested the fading traditions of Meath football as being the core reason behind the lack of success for the county seniors over the last two decades.

McEnaney, who took over from Eamon O'Brien in November 2010, was speaking on The Farney Army Pod and spoke about his disappointment of not getting another year with Monaghan in 2010.

He admitted that he took the Meath job as a 'knee jerk reaction' and while he did enjoy a decent first year in charge he believes that the old traditions, the attributes that made Meath great in the late 80s and early 90s are no longer there.

"I went into Meath as a knee jerk reaction after what happened in Monaghan. I was the first outside manager in Meath, and maybe the last," laughed McEnaney.

"I looked in thinking they were huge men, a tradition when it came to winning All-Irelands, but they were after having the controversy of winning against Louth (the Leinster SFC) in 2010.

"My first year went well enough, but in 2012 Dublin beat Meath by three points in a Leinster final with nearly 80,000 people at it.

"No team came within three points of Dublin over the 10 years since 2012. I had some good players, but it was tough, it wasn't simple."

Meath were relegated to NFL Div 3 and despite running Dublin to three points in the Leinster SFC final the Royals were beaten by Laois in the qualifiers and McEnaney subsequently resigned and went to Wexford.

"I enjoyed my year in Wexford immensely, I made friends for life there, it was brilliant," said McEnaney.

"I looked in at Meath, they were huge men with great tradition, were brave as lions. It was everything I didn’t expect.

"I could go into the Monaghan dressing-room and I could pick three or four fellas to do man-marking jobs that would be tough and nasty.

"This wasn’t the case in Meath. Mickey Burke was one man you could send to do a job.

"In relation to being tough, hard, tenacious, like the team of the ‘90s, I don’t like to be criticising, but the reality was that this wasn’t the case.

"I actually think, to tell you the truth, that the structures for the previous 15 years in Meath were terrible.

"There’s a man I haven’t mentioned actually, Paul O’Connor (Games Development Manager in Monaghan). Paul O’Connor has been so important to Monaghan football for 25 years, an unsung hero in Monaghan football, for me an unsung hero.

"This obviously wasn’t the case in Meath and I’m not that sure it has got that much better. I’m not that sure they’ve got that better since.

"They’ve gone through quite a number of managers since I was there, and good people in those managements.

"The first place you have to start is the structures and the structures Paul O’Connor has set in Monaghan, and the players he has produced over the last 15 years, is unbelievable," said McEnaney.