Hyland: Leitrim players will know there's 'not an opportunity'

Ex-Leitrim manager Terry Hyland acknowledges that his former players will know there's "no opportunity" of progressing far in the All-Ireland championships but says they must approach games as if there is.

After a reasonably progressive league campaign in Division 4 and a tense four-point win over London in Ruislip, Andy Moran's side head for Salthill on Sunday knowing in all probability that their latest Connacht Championship tilt will end there and the Tailteann Cup will occupy their attention thereafter.

Hyland, formerly manager of his native Cavan, was in charge in Leitrim for three seasons, guiding them to promotion from Division 4 in his first year in 2019 and a first competitive outing in Croke Park for a quarter of a century.

They subsequently notched a qualifier win over Wicklow in '19 and very nearly survived in the third tier in 2020, undermined by having to offer a walkover to Down as Covid descended.

His reign sadly ended in dismal fashion in 2021 with a very public televised hammering at the hands of Mayo in last year's championship, a match which triggered another wave of discussion over the viability of the provincial championships.

"There's no point saying everybody is equal. Everybody has not been equal in Gaelic football since the start of the association," Hyland told RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.

"All you have to look at is the number of All-Irelands won. It has never been a fair competition but it is the competition that's there.

"For the lower-tier teams, the league is a much fairer format of a competition for them. We'll say with Leitrim, we got promoted [from Division 4] in our first year [2019] and we were on a high. And yet we knew we were going to go into a Connacht competition against Mayo, Galway