‘Development is the key and winning will be a by-product’

Johnny Greville's Meath hurlers were outclassed by a talented Kildare side on Saturday and their hopes of promotion to NHL Div1B vanished. It has been a largely positive league campaign for Meath and in his post-match interview, Greville reflected on what he and his squad learned from this year's league campaign ahead of their Christy Ring opener against London on Saturday 12th April, writes Tom Gannon.

Speaking to the media afterwards, The Westmeath native was a bit disappointed by the performance against Kildare and said that Meath's lack of physicality in comparison to the Lilywhites was evident. He also expanded by speaking about a long-term physical development plan that needs to be implemented in Meath.

"You don't mind being beaten when you die with your boots on but I thought we left a bit out there today. Kildare are a bit further on in their development. You saw the differences in the physicality today." said Greville.

"We probably have a bit to find on the physical side of things. If we had won today, we would have been coming up against the likes of Clare, Wexford, Dublin, those sorts of teams are further ahead again in terms of physicality. Meath need to prioritise physical development and make it a staple of the set-up regardless of who the management is.

"The management might come and go here but there has to be a plan in place for long-term physical development. The minors were unlucky today (see page 57), those lads need to benefit from it as well. Every set-up from underage to senior have to buy into it. We have the tools at our disposal to implement that long-term plan but it takes time."

Greville reflected on a largely positive league campaign for the Royals and said that the team had achieved the goals that they had set out at the start of the year. He also looked ahead to their first Christy Ring clash against London.

"We learned a lot from the league because it was a positive experience throughout. We used 30 players throughout the league and we put in some good performances," said the manager.

"We learned a lot about each other as a squad so it has really served its purpose for us. We have achieved our goals. We set out to build our panel and maintain our status and we have done that. The opportunity to be promoted was a by-product.

"The build-up over the next three weeks will be all geared towards the championship. We have London first and they are a good side that has been promoted from Div 3. So we won't be looking past that game."

Greville was keen to praise the efforts of Kilmessan's Kris Gorman over the last few weeks. He was impressed with Gorman's commitment to the cause given the fact that he was travelling back and forth to Donegal throughout the campaign.

"Kris Gorman has been phenomenal throughout the league. I have to give him credit, he has been travelling up and down from Donegal every Tuesday and Thursday. He has been putting huge energy into his performances and that is the sort of drive that we are looking for in Meath hurling."

Greville explained that his management team are still new to the set-up and that they are still working on improvements so that they are ready for the Championship.

"We are a new management team and we are spotting and fixing every week. We are trying to make things better and find out what works and what doesn't. We are trying to get our system in place and get the set -up right. When the Christy Ring comes, it will be coming thick and fast, and we have to be ready for that. We try to make training as enjoyable as possible but also we feel that it is a hardworking environment as well." said Greville.

"When the Co Board came and asked me if was I interested in the job I put it to them that if they were looking for a yo-yo, boom-bust operation, that I wouldn't be interested in that.

"I want to build something and sustain it for a period of time. When I move on, I want it to be left in a place where it can be moved on to another level again.

"Development is the key and winning will be a byproduct. The players are buying into it as well, they are coming to training, they are working hard and they are leaving with a smile on their face," concluded the manager.