Published: Wednesday, 24th February, 2010 5:00pm

Glennon leaves panel in further blow to Westmeath

by Kevin O'Neill

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A difficult period for Westmeath's senior football team looks to have taken another negative turn, with speculation mounting this week that ace forward Denis Glennon has decided to opt out of the panel.

The Tyrrellspass attacker, Westmeath's top-scorer during an uninspiring start to the National Football League, made no comment when contacted about the issue by the 'Westmeath Independent'. However, a spokesperson for the Lake County camp confirmed Glennon has missed the last two training sessions (Monday and last Friday), after initially leaving last Wednesday's training session early.

Glennon's reasons for leaving the panel remain unclear at this stage. Westmeath manager Brendan Hackett was out of the country this week and unavailable for comment on the issue. Meanwhile Glennon, a key player for the county over the last six years, said: "I'm not talking to the press about this at the moment. I've nothing to say on the matter."

It remains to be seen whether or not the Tyrrellspass clubman will return to the county fold.

"The rumblings within the camp suggest Denis will not be returning to the fold," said a spokesperson for the Westmeath set-up.

Glennon's apparent decision to step away from the Westmeath camp will further weaken the panel ahead of their next league match against Meath on Saturday, March 6.

Westmeath had already been struggling to cope with the decisions of Dessie Dolan, John Keane and Derek Heavin to make themselves unavailable for selection, while Martin Flanagan's future with the team also remains unclear at present. Brendan Hackett's reign as Westmeath manager has struggled to get off the ground, and supporters of the team will are bound to become increasingly worried about the direction the team is headed after Glennon's defection.

However, Westmeath selector Paddy Collins said that the management team is hopeful that Glennon will return to the fold.

Describing Glennon as a player of "extraordinary ability", Collins said he has been "slightly hampered by a long-standing knee injury", but is responding well to treatment.