Dolan’s delight over final ‘bonus’ as focus turns to Wicklow test

Dessie Dolan has described winning the Allianz Football League Division 3 title as “bonus territory” - but there will no resting on laurels with the Leinster SFC opener against Wicklow looming on Sunday.

“It's a great win, bonus territory for us. The real aim at the start of the year was to get promotion. It’s great to win a cup but it’s over now,” said the Westmeath manager after last Saturday night's win over Down.

“We don’t have much opportunity to celebrate; the reality is we have to get the bus home. We have to get ready for a game next Sunday in the Leinster championship and it's a very important game for us,” continued the Coosan native.

Dolan said he agreed with the commentary that teams promoted from Division 3 should be given priority in terms of Sam Maguire Cup participation over teams which reach their provincial final.

“I would totally agree with that and it’s not just because we won the Division 3 title tonight,” said Dolan, who contended that it seemed “absolutely ridiculous” that a team could lose out in such a situation.

“It is an anomaly and maybe it will be fixed because this is a three-year experiment. It would give great importance to Division 3 - a guarantee of getting into the All-Ireland series would be a massive thing for the competition.”

Indeed, despite the result of Saturday's final, Down could still deprive Westmeath of a Sam Maguire place for this year by reaching the Ulster final.

“I would imagine the GAA went into it in good faith to promote the provincial championships but it does appear that it's a bit lopsided. It's a bit unfair on the other provinces compared to Connacht and Munster, and I think there will be a tweak. I'd be surprised if Jarlath Burns (GAA president) doesn't see that it's a fair thing to correct that,” Dolan remarked.

Dolan hailed the display of Sam McCartan, the deserving recipient of the man of the match award.

A grandson of legendary Galway football maestro Seán Purcell, McCartan lit up Croke Park, scoring four points and playing a crucial role in his side's victory.

“Sam McCartan deserves a lot of credit. I thought it was an immense performance that he gave, one of the best performances from a Westmeath man in Croke Park,” said Dessie.

Looking ahead to next Sunday's clash versus Wicklow in Portlaoise (throw-in 3.30pm), Dolan will pit his wits against Oisín McConville, someone he knows well from punditry duty.

“Oisín is a gentleman. Wicklow were in the same division as us this year so it will be a tough proposition. I thought (working in) the media was tough, standing there preaching seemed difficult, but management is a lot tougher!” Dolan said with a smile.

“It will be a tough challenge, but we're looking forward to it. We're not looking past the Wicklow game at this stage,” Dolan added.