Colm O'Rourke admitted that “we are where we deserve to be” after seeing his Meath side drop into the Tailteann Cup.
A 1-11 to 0-10 defeat to Offaly in Tullamore sent Meath tumbling out of the Leinster Championship having gone into the game knowing that they had to reach the provincial final to retain their spot in the All-Ireland SFC.
The writing was on the wall as Meath fell 1-4 to 0-0 behind by the 22nd minute and they trailed by nine points at half-time, with a second half rally never looking likely to retrieve the situation.
READ MORE: John Kiely blasts outside critics as Limerick edge Waterford in opener
O’Rourke said: “It’s tough in one sense but it’s an opportunity as well. We’re in the Tailteann Cup and we will embrace the challenge of it.
“We are where we deserve to be. We’re not going to make any excuses. Just because we had great teams in the past doesn’t give us any right to be in the Championship this year so the rules of the competition are that we’re in the Tailteann Cup even though we’d prefer if it was different but we’ll embrace the challenge and get on with it.”
It’s a significant fall from grace for a county of Meath’s tradition - they sit joint fourth in the All-Ireland roll of honour with seven titles - to find themselves in the second tier competition, for which the appetite locally may be lacking.
But O’Rourke insisted that his players will be up for it once it gets underway next month.
“Oh yes, there’s no doubt about it, we’ll take on the Tailteann Cup. We’re not going to hide away from it. It’s the competition I’ve often said that nobody wants to play in but we’re in it now and so be it.
“We’ll get on with it and we’ll try our best. We’re going to go back training this week. I have absolutely no doubt we’ll get total commitment from the players.”
Although one of Meath’s most celebrated players, O’Rourke pointed to testing times in his own playing days before Meath finally made progress in the mid-80s under Sean Boylan.
“I saw it all myself as a player. I saw a lot of bad days as a player with Meath as well.
“People tend to remember the glory days - I remember when we couldn’t win the first round of the Leinster Championship year after year after year.
“In fact, in the early ‘80s I think we lost at least three if not four years in a row where we lost the first round of the Championship, we couldn’t get near a Leinster final so it’s only history recreating itself and in some ways that steels players for the future.
“Under Sean Boylan, I think it took us three or four years to get to a Leinster final and I think five years to win a Leinster so these things don’t happen quickly and we’re going to knuckle down.
“We’re going to work hard now and try and make a success of the Tailteann Cup.”
READ NEXT:
Leinster and Ireland's Jack Conan on battling hormone imbalance: "I felt like I had aged 10 years"
Shamrock Rovers to offer Jack Byrne new contract after fending off MLS interest
Conor McGregor consoles Ryan Garcia after loss to Gervonta Davis
Roy Keane "disappointed" with John Egan's involvement in Manchester City goal
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
