Westmeath manager Michael Ryan believes that home advantage should count for something when his charges meet Offaly in the Leinster SHC Round Robin series at Cusack Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Lake County will be underdogs against the Division 1B side, but Ryan is confident that the squad have regrouped since the disappointment of their promotion/relegation play-off defeat to Laois earlier this month.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Ryan knows that his side will have to be at their best to have a chance of starting the campaign with a win.

"Offaly may not be as strong as in previous years but they still have been playing Division 1B hurling, the same as Laois have been playing," said Ryan.

"That certainly gives them some kind of advantage, but we'd hope that the fact that the game is in Cusack Park would be worth a few points to us.

"We know we have to go out and play for the full 72/73 minutes. Our fellows will have to work hard and maybe get a bit of luck along the way, but I'm confident that we have the players to do it."

Tweet

Most Read Stories