Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 5:00pm

Hackett resigned to being without Dolan for league campaign

ACE Westmeath forward Dessie Dolan will not be back in the Lake County set-up for Sunday's opening National Football League Division 2 match against Donegal (Cusack Park, Sunday, 2.30pm).

Dolan and John Keane have been among the high-profile absentees from the Westmeath panel since Brendan Hackett took over as manager, and although many people predict a return at some stage for Dolan, Hackett confirmed this week that the Garrycastle player is unlikely to feature during the league campaign.

"There's been no change in Dessie Dolan's situation and he's not currently available for selection. There's been no further contact in recent weeks and that's the situation as it stands," said Hackett.

The Westmeath manager, who saw his team lose by six points to Wexford in last weekend's O'Byrne Shield semi-final, has not ruled out a return for Dolan or Keane in the future.

"Panels will always be looked at and reviewed. Obviously, the county league will begin shortly and we'll have our ten scouts looking at players. I'd imagine there will be another trial process after the National League is over," said Hackett.

Donegal, who were actually relegated along with Westmeath from Division 1 last year, beat Tyrone in last weekend's Dr McKenna Cup final (1-11 to 0-13), and will present a very tough challenge for a largely experimental Westmeath side on Sunday.

Hackett said: "Donegal are a well established league team and have also reached a number of All-Ireland quarter-finals in recent years, so we know they're a serious outfit. They also have the advantage of their management knowing their players very well, something we are just getting used to at the moment.

"Their run in the Dr McKenna Cup shows their strength and class, so it's a very difficult opening match for us. Our preparations have been very short and we've really only had six proper training sessions with the players, something I have major difficulty with, but that's the situation we're dealing with at the moment. It's going to be a tough ask for us, especially with a good few untried players at inter-county level, but we'll be doing our very best against a very formidable Donegal side."

Among those in line to make their National League debut on Sunday include Stephen Bracken, John Gaffey, Gavin Hoey and Tommy Warburton.

Westmeath will be hugely reliant on their more experienced campaigners such as Gary Connaughton, Michael Ennis, Francis Boyle, Denis Glennon and Donal O'Donoghue, but there's still no escaping the fact that Westmeath look short on quality and experience at this stage in the year.

Hackett said: "In the short-term, people will be looking for us to consolidate and stay in Division 2, but that's going to be a difficult ask with so many changes. We are very much in a process of transition and it takes time."

"My medium-term ambition is to do well in this year's championship and I have to say, having worked closely with the under-21 team in recent weeks, that the long-term would appear very promising. Ultimately, we are trying to knit a good team together and there's nothing instantaneous about such a process. We are gradually getting lads fit enough to play at this level and trying to develop a style of play by putting new routines in place and trying to bring some younger players up to the pace of inter-county football. It's not an easy process and people have to be realistic enough to acknowledge that these type of processes take time."

During the Division 2 campaign, Westmeath will also have to take on Meath, Armagh, Laois, Kildare, Tipperary and Down - in a division which, on paper, looks very formidable.