“That’s not really a question, Wooly. That’s more of a statement.”
John Heslin is a man on a mission but he is most certainly not a man who is feeling sorry himself.
You look at Division Four and you think how on earth have Westmeath ended up there. Two Leinster final appearances in the last two years would suggest that they’re really operating on a level higher than the bottom rung of the football ladder but that’s where they’re at.
Tom Cribben and the Lake County have quickly gone about rectifying their slide though. After an opening day draw with Carlow, they’ve shot the lights out of the rest of the division, winning their next five games with 55 points to spare.
On Sunday, a win over a weakened Wexford side confirmed their promotion back to Division Three and it means that, for a sixth consecutive season, Westmeath will be playing in a different division than the campaign previous.
The man leading that charge back up is of course, John Heslin. He’s hit 3-48 in six games, a modest enough return. But he’s not someone who has been looking to make excuses or make Westmeath out to be better than they are.
In a fascinating interview on The GAA Hour, Heslin was having none of Colm Parkinson’s claims that Westmeath are too good for Division Four or that they should be “embarrassed” by being there.
“We’re in Division Four for a reason,” the forward said.
“We obviously deserve to be there. We weren’t hand-picked and put in Division Four. Likewise, when we got to Division One, we deserved to be there because our results got us that promotion. And it was the same with the relegation.
“The big thing this year is that we have more options. It’s all well and good saying, ‘Oh, you went defensive against this team and that team,’ but maybe we didn’t have the strength and depth in the panel at the time.
“This year, a lot of guys have committed to the inter-county scene who wouldn’t have done so in years gone by and we have bigger and stronger bodies. They’ve brought training onto another level and even yesterday [against Wexford], we had two or three lads start who didn’t play at all last year.”
Wooly, of course, pushed him a little more.
“Is it embarrassing being in Division Four? It’s more embarrassing playing in Division One and losing every game. That’s difficult. Would I rather be in Division One and lose every game or be in Division Four and win every game and play well… each has an individual answer there.”
Listen to the full interview (from 56:00) below. It’s definitely worth it.
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