Paddy Fox hopeful Longford can progress
Longford's Paddy Fox pictured at the launch of the Tailteann Cup. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
By Cian O'Connell
For Paddy Fox, there is just something about the Tailteann Cup.
The experienced and popular Longford captain relishes the challenges the competition brings. Matches are guaranteed, a meaningful chance to progress exists.
A home game against Fermanagh is next for Longford in the Tailteann Cup, and Fox relishes these fixtures. "Look, you may know from our performances the last few years, but it's something we massively go after," Fox says.
"It's three guaranteed championship games, do you know what I mean? It's huge for us. It's tricky I suppose, in the fact that when you lose early in Leinster, it's to manage that four or five weeks, but no, it's something we would massively go after.
"You're getting a home game, an away game, a neutral game and then you've a great chance of getting a preliminary quarter-final and a quarter-final.
"We'd hugely go after it. I can't speak for other camps, but I think most camps from chatting to lads here, they all, even the teams that hoping to be playing in Sam and all that, go after it and want to progress. Obviously, our goals might be different to Kildare and Offaly, but for us it's huge."
Longford manager Mike Solan enjoyed successful days with Mayo teams in the underage ranks and Fox praises his contribution in 2025. "Mike has been brilliant there, you worry sometimes maybe when managers come in from a bigger county, the dynamics are a lot different in Longford maybe than they are in Mayo and stuff like that.
Paddy Fox remains a key performer for Longford. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
"He has been brilliant there, absolutely super, the players love him, he's held on to everybody. Essentially we've lost one lad so far off the squad just through his work commitments, there’s a great way about him. We're young, we'd lost a lot of players, last year experienced players, Mickey Quinn and Darren Gallagher.
"Look at our appearances, there's a big drop off, there's four or five of us there on maybe 80, 90, four of us I think maybe, and then there's a big drop off, a lot of lads, 21, 22, 23, which is good, but it's a learning curve."
So, Fox is eager to lead by example. "You've been seeing a few of the games there, I suppose it's on me and the experienced lads that we have to kind of guide us through it where we got lost in games for five, 10, 15 minutes," he explains.
"Wicklow in the league, I think there's about a 15 minute period there where they got on top of our kick outs and stuff with the rules.
"We kind of just folded and before you know it they got a few two pointers, hit for a goal, you're eight, nine points down and you're really, really chasing the game.
"That's where the likes of me and Dessie Reynolds and the lads need to step up there I suppose and kind of guide us, because we've been there, we shouldn't be letting that happen.
"Look it's good experience for the lads there, there's a few there and a few more now that are flying with the 20s, so look, hopefully it'll do something good there, Mike is putting all the right infrastructure in place, to be fair to him."
