Leitrim manager Shane Ward has said that he feels the current qualifier system does not work for weaker counties.
Speaking after his side defeated Waterford on a scoreline of 0-12 to 0-08 to record only their second-ever back-door win, Ward said Leitrim have not benefited from a system that was brought in to give traditionally less strong teams more games.
While Leitrim lost out to Louth by a somewhat respectable nine points in the first round of the qualifiers last year, they lost to Down by 21 points in 2014 and to Armagh by a massive 37-point margin in 2013.
Those defeats had a big impact on the Division 4 side, Ward admits.
"We've had three or four massive beatings in the last few years, which hasn't been easy pick the lads up from," he told RTÉ Sport.
While Ward feels there is a solution to the issue that can benefit weaker sides, he doesn't "think the present qualifier system is the way to work it."
Instead, he would prefer to see lower-level sides playing more games.
"I think more games is what we need and more games against more competitive opposition would probably be the answer.
"Can they provide that for us or not? I’m not sure. I’d like to see something to give boys more games and more exposure to Championship football."
Ward's comments echo those made by his captain, Gary Reynolds, following the county's heavy Connacht championship defeat to Roscommon.
Leitrim lost out to the Rossies by 13 points that day, but Ward said he saw a lot of improvements from his side against the Déise.
"There were lots of positives in that game today and it was more pleasing with regard to the effort [compared to the Roscommon game] and the concentration of the boys for the full 70 minutes.
"I though they gave a good performance across large parts of the game, which was pleasing.
"It was the response we needed from them. We spoke about that after the Roscommon game and it was very much what we needed."
However, it was not all plain sailing for the hosts at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada.
The home side led by five points at the break and pulled seven clear early in the second half, but four unanswered points from Waterford made for an unnecessarily nervy finish in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Ward admitted this was a cause for concern, albeit one that is somewhat explained by the novelty factor of Leitrim winning a Championship game.
"I spoke about it at half-time, having the confidence to go and push on. I though we retreated a lot in the last 10," he said.
"That's somewhat natural because they want to win so badly, they want to protect what they have, but nonetheless they should have pushed out."
While the system may not be perfect, Leitrim footballers and their followers will go to bed tonight knowing they have a place in round 2A of the qualifiers.
