Hanley hopes his new troops can show their true worth

WITH a soul-destroying NHL campaign now consigned to memory, Westmeath hurlers begin their Leinster SHC journey this Sunday when they take on Carlow in the preliminary round at Dr Cullen Park (3pm). Since the disappointment of a Division 2 series which yielded zero points, and led to the departure of former Offaly star Kevin Martin as manager, the Lake County have a new manager at the helm in Galway native Brian Hanley. The Athenry man oversaw Westmeath's final league outing against Down, and has since been working overtime with the panel in a bid to restore some pride in the county's hurling team. Speaking ahead of Sunday's game, which sees Carlow start as strong favourites to progress to play Galway, Hanley said: "It's difficult not to view Carlow as favourites, as Westmeath have been on a poor run of results. But I've received very positive feedback from the players since I arrived in Westmeath. We've had nine very good training sessions and three matches since, including the league game against Down, and my sole objective has been to implement a system and style of play with the players. To be fair, the players have really bought into what I'm trying to do." "The Westmeath players are good hurlers, there's no doubt about that. The situation isn't as poor as was perceived, and I've been very pleased with the standard of the panel. The lads are fit and the desire to do well is there. I think they just needed a bit of guidance and leadership. However, it's difficult to break a losing habit, because players get very down and low on confidence when their losing matches. We've been trying to get inside the players' heads and trying to lift them. "I suppose we'll see how our work has gone when Carlow put the pressure on. It's vital the players believe in what we've been doing over the past number of weeks, and I know this group can hurl well on Sunday." Westmeath's 37-year-old manager has an injury concern over Derek McNicholas, but is hopeful Lough Lene Gaels man will be available. Hanley, who assisted current Garrycastle manager Anthony Cunningham with Galway under-21 hurlers over the past two years, is also currently manager of Galway senior hurling outfit Liam Mellows. Since the defeat to Down in the league, Westmeath have played challenge matches against Athenry and the Galway U-21s. Hanley said: "I was delighted with how things went in the narrow win over the Galway U-21s, but we were without several players for the Athenry game. It's all about implementing a style of play, and a new system, and it's important the players stick to the system against Carlow." Carlow enjoyed a reasonable league campaign in Division 2, clocking up three wins from their seven outings, while Westmeath finished rock-bottom of the same division on no points, and were relegated to Division 3 for next year.