Replying To royalcounty1:  "Reading some of the posts about lads underperforming, it's a very fine balance between management persisting with players to allow them find form, and simply not having the squad depth to replace underperforming stars.

Rafferty will play almost every minute when available, even if he doesn't hit All-Star form. The same goes for Coffey, Keoghan and Caufield.

We need to add depth in defence - and fairly quickly, in my opinion. At the very least, options should be explored for scenarios like suspension or injury. Keoghan, for example, could slot into the full-back line, with a natural ball-player pushed out to wing-back. Could Coffey cover corner-back? Could Costello do a job at 6 for a spell? The top teams are fluid, and I'd like to see lads get more exposure to covering positions.

That said, I don't actually expect much of that to happen, and I understand why. Brennan is striking while the iron is hot. Promotion is the goal, and if he delivers it, it's hard to argue against rigid team selections.

Louth game:
Meath press high, but once that press is broken, they tend to become passive. We learned our lesson last year by standing off Lennon and Mulroy. I'd like to see a more aggressive defensive approach - don't allow Louth to give Mulroy easy ball around the arc, and get right in Lennon's face.

I expect the team to remain unchanged. Banty deserves to start, but I think he'll be held in reserve. Strangely, you could even drop one of Frayne, Costello or Duke, let Adam O'Neill empty the tank for 40 minutes, and the impact from the lads coming in would probably outweigh what those players give if they start. I'm a big fan of the work Adam O'Neill gets through, he earns us the ability to let a footballer play."