Galway's promotion hopes damaged by resurgent Royals

By Paul Keane

IT WAS Kevin Walsh’s opinion after losing to Cavan in last year’s league, a result that denied Galway promotion to Division 1, that the table at the end of the campaign never lies. Galway hadn’t done enough to finish in the top two so didn’t deserve to go up.
He found it difficult to put the same reasoning on defeat to Meath as he felt that Donal Lenihan’s 66th minute goal which swung the game came against the run of play.
But the Galway manager’s general opinion about potentially returning to the top flight, where they haven’t played since 2011, hasn’t changed.
“If you don’t go up then you’re not ready for it, that’s the way I look at it,” said Walsh. “I suppose the next three or four weeks will tell us if we’re ready or not. I would rather go up without having a fluky kind of run and maybe not having a panel deep enough to take injuries and club commitments perhaps the following year. It’s important this panel is deep enough that when we’re ready to go up we prove that and then we have the panel to back it up.”
Adding former captain Michael Meehan to the squad is a clear attempt to bolster the squad.
The Caltra man, 32, pulled out of the squad three years ago as he battled a long-term ankle problem and conceded in early 2015 that he was 'unlikely’ to ever revive his county career.
But he has been in regular contact with Walsh for the last two years, according to the manager, and has now signalled his desire to give it one last shot.

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