By Rory Houston - @RTESundayGame
Carlow manager Luke Dempsey believes the county’s footballers are heading in the right direction, regardless of the outcome of this weekend’s Leinster Football Championship quarter-final clash with Louth.
Dempsey has been building a new and enthusiastic panel in the Dolmen County in his tenure and is confident that they are starting to reach a competitive level in the province.
The meeting with Louth, one of the surprise packages of the 2010 Championship and winner of promotion to the Allianz Football League Division 2 this season, will thoroughly test Dempsey’s men but he is looking forward to the opportunity.
The Barrowsiders boss said: 'The Championship is always the yardstick to judging how your team is doing on a particular year. It is no different this year, albeit a tough assignment. It is Division 4 against Division 2.
'It’s a great challenge. It has taken a couple of years to get the right blend of youth and experience in Carlow and get really focused on blending in the Under-21s from last year and this year and bringing in a few experienced players.
'It is a very young team down the middle. Carlow football is going in the right direction no matter what the result is. We’ve got a very hard-working and disciplined group, which has taken a while to get. They are all looking forward to it.
'We really concentrated this year on our own performance and getting things right in our own camp. It is very hard to predict the outcome of any Championship match. But if our outcome is a great performance by a new look team then I will be happy.'
This year’s Championship has seen a mix of eye-opening results and disillusioning defeats for the so-called weaker counties in the competition.
Dempsey admits there is still a huge gulf in class in certain matches but he takes heart from the exceptional performances achieved by Leitrim and London so far this campaign.
'It’s not a case of anybody can beat anybody. There have been surprise results but you look at the likes of Waterford and Limerick and Offaly suffering big defeats.
'You can see the gap between the top few counties. But of course Leitrim and London’s performances have been highlights for the smaller counties and you have to take every hopeful happening and use it to your advantage.'
