By Damian Lawlor
The forgotten man of Westmeath football, Denis Glennon, is expected to spearhead the Lake County's hunt for NFL promotion this weekend.
The back-to-back Leinster SFC finalists are at home to Carlow in the opening bout of Division 4 fixtures this Sunday and know that a flying start is imperative to their chances of getting out of the bottom tier and climbing back up Gaelic football's tiers.
A raft of younger players have been introduced to the set-up to boost their cause, including Kevin Fagan, John Rock, Lorcan Dolan, Alex Gardiner and Jordan Marshment.
Athlone’s Alan Gaughan has returned to the inter-county picture having been largely committed to rugby in recent years while former minor star Luke Loughlin has transferred home after a stint in New York.
But it's the return of 33-year-old Glennon that has caught the eye with the veteran expected to lead the attack from centre-forward this weekend.
"There are a variety of players coming in or back to us from different backgrounds and they all have to be looked at individually," said manager Tom Cribbin.
"But Denis is a bit exceptional to the rule because he keeps himself in such incredible condition. You wouldn't believe the condition he is in.
"He doesn't look 33 and you would never think he has 14 years service given to the county because his fitness levels are different to everyone else's.
"He is in peak condition in terms of body fat, stamina, strength and speed and he is helped by the fact that he has had no major injuries along the way. He will be a huge addition to us.
"Denis was away last year and he had a lot going on - he got married, they had a baby and he was probably not sure if he could give a commitment.
"But he obviously felt there was one more good year in him. I would say there is one more year at the very least - with the shape he is in he could go for a few more years yet."
The return of the mercurial Tyrrellspass man, who holds a Leinster SFC medal from 2004 and a Division 2 League medal from 2008, will encourage the Westmeath men to give more weight to their attacking options this season.
Against Dublin and Mayo last season, they understandably adapted a defensive template.
"You have to be right from the word go"
But their manager says they will be going all-out to win every game in the NFL, warning that if they drop points in their first two games they will come under instant pressure.
"You have to be right from the word go," Cribbin, who has called on the GAA to help out counties with smaller populations, says.
"We have the ability, our fitness is where we'd like it to be and the injury list is a lot better than it was last year.
"We will have to be positive with our approach because we played Carlow pre-season and they are in great nick.
"They are really well coached, they worked incredibly hard against us, a big, physical team and it was a nice surprise to go down to play them and see how much Carlow football has improved and to see the level they're at.
"This year in Division 4 we have to trust in our attackers. The priority is to get out of that division.
"Later in the year, if you come up against a top five team in the championship it's a different story. The mindset of smaller counties in that case is to play to a certain game plan, try to stay with them for as long as you can and then hope to be in the hunt to have a cut at them."
Westmeath have looked at 33 players in pre-season and hope that some of their more experiences players are fresh, having only returned to the fold at the start of January.
Live commentary of Mayo v Monaghan (throw-in 7pm) on Saturday Sport Extra on RTE Radio 1. Reports on all the today's main games on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 from 2pm. Highlights of the weekend's action on League Sunday on RTÉ Two television (7.30pm).
