Players are behind under fire Hanley says Sheridan

The players, hurling committee and county board are 100 per cent behind under pressure Westmeath senior hurling manager Brian Hanley.

That’s according to Westmeath County Board chairman Sean Sheridan, who says that despite rumours of discord in the camp, the senior hurlers are behind the Galway native.

Following the abject home defeat to Derry on February 23, a clear-the-air meeting was held in Kinnegad on Saturday that was attended by players, management, county board officials and members of the hurling committee. Mr Sheridan said there was a “good atmosphere” at the meeting and that a “few issues were dealt with strongly”.

“The players know they got a bad beating against Derry and have pulled together. They see where the problems are, where they they’re going wrong and where they can improve. There was a good atmosphere. There were a few little issues that we sorted out and hopefully we can move on,” Sheridan said.

The players held a meeting of their own on Wednesday evening and despite rumours of disquiet in the camp, Mr Sheridan says that everyone is “united”.

“Hopefully we can all pull together going forward, the players, management, hurling committee and county board. There were a few little issues that needed to be sorted out behind closed doors, we are not going to hide behind that.”

The senior hurlers will be hoping to record their first win in this season’s league when Kerry come to Cusack Park on Sunday. The throw-in time is 12.45pm.

Cusack Park will host a double header of league action this Sunday, with the hurling clash against Kerry to be followed by Westmeath facing 2013 All-Ireland finalists Mayo at 2.30pm.