Venue change for Westmeath's O'Byrne Cup opener

This Sunday's O'Byrne Cup clash between Westmeath and DCU has been moved to Lakepoint Park, Mullingar (home ground of St Loman's). Westmeath were scheduled to play DCU in the first round of the O'Byrne Cup last Sunday, but all games in the competition were postponed due to the cold weather which left pitches frozen and travelling conditions treacherous. The game has been re-fixed for this Sunday at Lakepoint Park, Mullingar (throw-in: 2pm), while Athlone IT's clash away to Carlow is due to start at the same time. Meanwhile, the Westmeath senior football management team has announced a preliminary panel for the O'Byrne Cup. The Westmeath panel is due to commence training this week, weather permitting, and this group will also form the basis of the National League panel. The management team of Brendan Hackett, Mattie Fox, Spike Fagan and Paddy Collins has had considerable difficulty putting plans in place in recent months. The wet weather followed by the current cold spell meant the cancellation of several trials in November and December, and the panel has not been able to train since January 1 due to frozen pitches. The preliminary panel shows a variety of new faces in addition to numerous players who have played on the teams of recent years. Several big names are not on the panel such as All-Star winners Dessie Dolan and John Keane, Derek Heavin, David O'Shaughnessy, Martin Flanagan and Kieran Gavin. In total, there are 36 players on the panel, including four under-21 players. Senior county champions Garrycastle have only two players on the panel - Doran Harte and John Gaffey - while 2008 champions Castledaly have just one representative in Tommy Warburton. Commenting on the panel, Westmeath manager Brendan Hackett stated: "There was a very thorough and open process in assembling the panel. A selection committee with representatives from clubs at senior, intermediate and junior levels nominated approximately 70 players to begin with. Clubs had the option to add to this list and did. A series of trials followed in October and a core of 60 players accepted the invitation to commence training. Training programmes were given to each player for the months of November and December and regular fitness testing took place to monitor progress. "We selected this panel after the final trials just before Christmas. Naturally there are a number of new players and in some cases we have not had sufficient time to effectively evaluate them at this level. We have decided, however, to give them the opportunity to train in the set-up and see how they measure up. To date they have shown commendable commitment and enthusiasm. "Obviously some people will focus on the names not in there but all players were given the opportunity to be part of this process. Some chose not to respond and others declined, citing inability to give the commitment required. John Keane indicated before my appointment that he had retired and he asked me not to consider him when I met him. I respect his decision and I also accept the decisions of the others." "The management team will now focus on preparing this panel for the league. We have been very impressed by their attitude and commitment and there has been a very positive response from the players," added Hackett. A number of players are not available to Westmeath for the O'Byrne Cup due to college commitments. These include Gary Connaughton and David Reynolds (Athlone IT), Tommy Warburton (UCD), David Duffy (NUIG) and Mark Dalton (UL). Veteran defender Damien Healy is part of the preliminary panel and Brendan Hackett will be the sixth Westmeath manager for him to play under. Since making his National League debut in 1996, Healy has played under Barney Rock, Brendan Lowry, Luke Dempsey, Páidí " Sé and Tomás " Flatharta. However, the 33-year-old has warned that his involvement this year is dependent on his fitness. "I'm trying to get fit to see can I do anything this year. I'm not sure how it will end up. There are highs and lows in every season. Last year just nothing went right. Nothing could be done about that. Hopefully now, with new management, new players, new impetus, we can get things going again." Westmeath SF Preliminary Panel Aidan Finnan, Darren Quinn, Damien Healy, David Duffy, David Reynolds, Denis Glennon, Donal O'Donoghue, Doran Harte, Fergal Wilson, Francis Boyle, Gary Connaughton, Gary Flanagan, Gary Glennon, Gary Quinn, Gavin Hoey, Greg Crowley, Jack Hogan, John Gaffey, John Smyth, Mark Dalton, Michael Curley, Michael Ennis, Niall Kilcoyne, Noel Kiernan, Paul Greville, Philip Gilsenan, Ronan Doolin, Stephen Gallagher, Steven Bracken, Tommy Warburton, Willie Coyne, Willie Murtagh. U21 players: Conor Lynam, Kieran Duncan, Paul Sharry, Tommy McDaniel.