FORMER DONEGAL FOOTBALLER Martin McHugh has lambasted the strength of Meath football and criticised the Royals for not beating Wicklow by at least 10 points in yesterday’s Leinster quarter-final.
Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio the pundit ripped into the current Meath side, suggesting that the Celtic Tiger put a stop to Meath teams digging deep and working hard.
“The one county this weekend I’d be very fearful for is Meath, I don’t know what’s happening in Meath football,” said McHugh when asked which counties could compete with last year’s provincial winners.
They’re a big county, they’ve a big population and have the tradition of being a very, very strong Gaelic county, and I don’t know, maybe the players are not coming through, maybe through the Celtic Tiger they had it too good.
Meath face Westmeath in the Leinster semi-final, and should they get past their local rivals, they could face a meeting with Dublin in the Leinster final. McHugh holds out little hope for a Meath victory.
“Look, we’ll see, but you’d feel that if they came up against Dublin at this stage, that unless they park two or three buses, they’ll be in big trouble.
“You just feel at home that normally Meath, you’re expecting them to win by at least 10 points. Wicklow had a very, very poor league. Fair play to Wicklow, you have to give them credit.”