‘We’re a here and now team it's all about the present’

Those two great blues men and friends - Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker - brought out a song together some years ago called 'Don't Look Back.'

"Don't look back to the days of yesteryear,/You cannot live on in the past,/Don't look back," goes the opening verse. "And if I could call back all those days of yesteryear/I would never grow old and I'd never be poor,/But darlin', those days are gone," goes another verse.

It's not clear whether the new Meath manager Johnny Greville is a big blues fan or not but that central message about not dwelling on the past and living in the now is clearly something he has a lot of faith in.

It's a message the Raharney native is seeking to get across to the players as he prepares them for the start of the National Hurling League Div 2 campaign against Donegal on Saturday at Trim, 2pm.

It doesn't matter what happened in the past and it doesn't matter what might happen in the future. Nobody can do a whole lot about either. What does matter is what's happening in the now.

"Not looking back, that's something I'm conscious of saying to the lads, we're a here and now team, we are going to do the best we possibly can to stay in the here and now. We are not going to look forward, or back."

That living in the moment is part of a culture or "identity" Greville is seeking to create around the Meath squad. A culture where high standards are set and everything will be given for the cause, where players are not weighed down by events of yesteryear or expectations of the future.

"We are looking to create a culture, a set up, that is about hard work but is enjoyable at the same time. An environment where we hold each other accountable and make sure we don't drop our standards. An honest culture or standard that applies across the board."

While still only in his mid 40s Greville brings with him a deep reservoir of experience to the post of manager and oceans of enthusiasm. He knows the Meath hurling scene well having guided Kildalkey for a few seasons, taking them to the 2017 SHC final where they were defeated by Kiltale.

He was part of Westmeath SHC triumphs with Raharney as a player and manager. He managed the Westmeath minor hurlers and the county's senior camogie teams with considerable success. He was an accomplished hurler himself and played at senior level for Westmeath.

He is clearly fascinated and intrigued with coaching and the challenge, the science, of taking a group of players and making them better, both collectively and individually.

The Meath job is enough to test the most knowledgeable of coaches but it's a job Greville relishes.

He talks about how he is a manager who likes to get involved and teach the fundamentals of the game as opposed "to a hands-in-the-pocket" overseer standing on the sideline.

To help him in his quest to improve standards he points to "a brilliant" and sizeable backroom team he has brought in including Ronan Byrne who worked with the Wexford u-20s last year.

"Then I have Dermot Moran, a coach, from Na Fianna in Dublin, the mastermind behind the current Na Fianna team, he would have won several underage titles with this group of players.

"We have Ciaran Keogh, one of the best S &C coaches in the country, Barry Reynolds also an S &C coach, David Tobin, nutritionist, Declan Keenan, analyst.

“We have others who bring a world of knowledge including physios Luke Fogarty, Ciaran Giblin and selectors Seanie Corrigan and Tom Shine, they bring a world of knowledge to everything we do.

"We have a huge backroom of people trying to bring Meath hurling forward, including our two kitmen Gerry McLoughlin and Paul Dunne, the heartbeat of the set-up, fantastic people to have around the environment, really, really brilliant."

Also including in the set-up is a sports psychologist Paul Brady, the Cavan handballer who is also a world champion in his sport - and a qualified psychologist. Yet, as the manager points out, Brady is in place to offer his expertise to players and not just with hurling matters. It’s never just about the hurling.

"Paul is there to listen to the players, anyone who is having issues, it's not just about what we want on the field, it's also about how we can aid the players off the field as well."

Grevillie believes in the holistic approach to things, mindful that managing a hurling team, any team, is about dealing with people and all the complexities that involves.

The manager also credits Meath Co Board for the support they give. "We have wanted for nothing," he adds.

The Westmeath man cites that old, timeless cliche often referenced by managers and how his team will be taken it "one game at a time."

He knows it's a tired old line but a message he's eager to get across to his players as they are about to set off on a new league campaign.

A journey into the unknown.

The Meath panel for the NHL is: Cian Field (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), Cian Rogers (Ratoath), Daire Shine (Kilskrye/Moylagh), Damien Healy (Longwood), Darragh Kelly (Ratoath), Darren O'Higgins (Kilskyre/Moylagh), Domhnall Rogers (Ratoath), Evan Fitzgerald (Kildalkey), Jack Fagan (Dunderry), Jack Regan (Kiltale), James Cooke (Kilskyre/Moylagh), James Kelly (Kiltale), James Toher (Trim), Jarlath Ennis (Rathmolyon), Joey Cole (Trim), Kris Gorman (Kilmessan), Kyle Donnelly (Kilmessan), Mark Horan (Kilmessan), Martin Healy (Kildalkey), Mikey Cole (Trim), Nicky Potterton (Kildalkey), Noah Conroy (Kilmessan), Oisin Bright (Na Fianna), Paddy Barnwell (Kildalkey), Philip O'Brien (St Patrick's), Sean Corbett (Ratoath), Sean Doyle (Kilmessan), Sean Geraghty (Kilskrye/Moylagh), Sean Quigley (St Peter's), Simon Ennis (Rathmolyon), Stevie Gibbons (Boarsmill), Tiernan Anderson (Gaeil Colmcille), Mickey Burke (Longwood), Lorcan Byrne (Kilmessan), Colm O'Riordan (Ratoath).