Whelan: Donegal and Meath in a difficult place for the rest of 2023

Meath and Donegal will find it tough to get their seasons back on track after disappointing defeats over the weekend, according to former Dublin player Ciarán Whelan.

The Tír Chonaill men were beaten by Down at Newry, with the Royals falling to Offaly a few hours later at Tullamore.

The defeat for Donegal comes after tumultuous Allianz League campaign, as newly appointed manager Paddy Carr stepped away before the end of a campaign which would end in relegation, saying at the the time that he "[wanted] nothing more than the best for Donegal and that will never change.'

Meath made a bright start to their league campaign, but a poor run of performances saw them avoid relegation down to the third tier by a single point.

For Whelan, losing can become a habit in much the same way winning can.

"It's very hard when momentum is going against a team," Whelan told the RTÉ GAA Podcast.

"The spirit is broken, and confidence is down in the camp [and] training is difficult. It happens to three or four teams every year, look at Down last year.

"That's from losing games, no matter how you lose them. Sometimes the manner of the loss can be different; if there's been a bit of fight, a bit of desire there.

"But it's really, really difficult for those teams."

Meath, who won four All-Irelands between 1987 and 1999, will be playing in the Tailteann Cup in the summer.

For some it's a sorry reflection of where football in the Royal county is at the moment, for others, a fair affirmation of a prolonged slide that started long before the arrival of Colm O'Rourke.

Although Meath are the last side other than Dublin to win a Leinster title, that was 13 years ago, and it's one of only two they've won in this century.

For now, Whelan says the Royals have to given