Sean Hagan has admitted he was surprised by Leitrim's blasé attitude towards the All-Ireland qualifiers this year.

The Connacht minnows have a dreadful record in the backdoor series - with their only win coming two years ago against Wicklow - and trend of suffering heavy defeats continued in June when their understrength side shipped a 0-9 to 4-18 drubbing at the hands of Down.

"It was frustrating what happened with players leaving after the Roscommon game, but the guys' inner-belief was not there for the qualifiers," former manager Hagan lamented in the Leitrim Observer.

"There is a mentality there about the qualifiers, but I didn't realise it was so deeply ingrained.

"I want to compliment all the players for their commitment and hard work and although I don't like to single out players, we had a fantastic leader in the pack in Emlyn Mulligan.

"We had a fantastic bunch of lads, but the six-week wait between games was a huge factor and unfortunately, some of the lads didn't have the heart for the battle."

The Longford native, who resigned after just one season at the helm last weekend, believe Leitrim should start building for the future immediately.

"I would urge the county board to concentrate on the young lads coming through, build on the minor team who won Connacht Minor League (this year). Those lads are used to winning things and I think Leitrim should build for the future, they won't have any fear of anyone." Tweet

Most Read Stories