We owed them one says Jack Gilheany after Leitrim's victory over Longford

Public pronouncements before last Sunday’s Tailteann Cup clash with Longford may have downplayed the League but there is no mistaking it was a driving factor for the Green & Gold, particularly if you talk with Jack Gilheany!

“We kind of owed them one particularly after the last day in the League,” revealed Jack after Sunday’s 2-12 to 0-17 victory, adding “We felt we underperformed and we would have targeted that game so it was nice to come in here and get a result in Pearse Park. Hopefully we can build on this and build for Kildare in two weeks after this.”

The Fenagh St Caillin’s man was one of the driving forces of Leitrim’s victory but Jack highlighted the resilience his teammates showed under immense pressure: “That was something we spoke about and something Mickey Graham does harp on about a lot, that mental toughness. 

“I think we have shown over the year that we have built that and grinding out those results gives you confidence to maybe drive it on even more. You can dip into that mental toughness when you need to in other games which is always good. It is something we have definitely worked on this year.”

That approach was also exemplified by Leitrim’s eagerness to take on a team that have been a bogey side over the years: “I don’t think there was nervousness, maybe more excitement really - we targeted this and we even said before the game that the pitch is in great shape, the weather - this is why you play football. 

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“There are so many times we are training in awful conditions and awful pitches and these are the days you are training for so I think it was actually more exciting to be honest.”

Pleased with his own performance in a screening role for Leitrim in front of the defence, Jack wants to see Leitrim develop more on that side of the game ahead of next year’s League: “It is something we have worked on, I’ve had a few different jobs over the year, some man marking jobs as well. I think our defensive structure is definitely improving.

“It is something we’ve been working on since the Laois game in Croke Park - that gave us a bit of an eye opener of what we need to do to build for Division 3 next year. We have to get a bit more defensively solid and it is something we’ve worked on and I think it is definitely improving every game. And we didn’t concede a goal today.”

As for the future, Jack is relishing a free shot at a Kildare team Leitrim will face in next year’s League: “At worst, we have a home preliminary quarter final which is great and please God, we can build on that. We’ll focus on Kildare first and see what we can do there.

“You want to be playing against these top teams and we’re going to playing them in Division 3 next year so there is no point in being nervous and playing within yourself, the only way you can improve is playing those top teams so yeah, full steam ahead.”