The poor form continued into the Leinster quarter-final when they were beaten by Offaly in Tullamore.

In his report to the county board, O’Rourke writes: “The championship match against Offaly brought us to rock bottom. One of the worst performances in the first half of that game by any Meath team ever.

“The second-half comeback failed but at least showed that there were loads of spirit in the team which the Tailteann Cup demonstrated. That competition came at the right time. Confidence improved with each game and the weekend in Waterford bonded the team together.”

Reviewing the league campaign where a sixth place finish contributed to their failure not to qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup, O’Rourke comments: “The League itself started very well but finished with a whimper. The best performance was probably the first game in Cork and things disimproved after beating Clare in Navan.

“In our last five games, we only took one point which was very disappointing. Incidentally, the level of player change was advertised best by the fact that only six players who started in Cork were on the starting 15 for the Tailteann Cup final.” 

When Meath were facing teams in lower divisions in the Tailteann Cup, O’Rourke felt the county were “entitled” to win it. He has set promotion from Division 2 next year as a target.

He thanked the county committee for their patience. “I am sure there were plenty of times during the early part of the year when some were wondering if we knew what we were doing.

“There was always going to be a bit of pain in making wholesale changes to the panel, but it was always better to get it done quickly and build for the future. Yet while the results were not good, I was treated at all times with the utmost respect, and I am also quite sure that the same was true in reverse.

“Next year there are some changes to the background team, a new Doctor, John Holian from Navan is a specialist in Kidneys at St Vincent`s Hospital. He regards it as an honour to be involved with the Meath team and does not want anything for it.

“Paul Conneely from Moynalvey is the new lead Physio and Barry Horgan is taking over the Strength & Conditioning, and it makes perfect sense to have him involved given his international experience in this field. He will be assisted by Daithí McCabe. Trevor Giles is a huge addition to our coaching team.” 

In 2023, Meath spent €1.296 million on their inter-county teams, an increase of over €336,000 from last year, and over €100,000 was incurred in expenses for managers and selectors compared to €27,150 in 2022. O’Rourke expects the expenditure on the senior football team to be reduced due to less overnight stays during the league and smaller medical costs.

“There does seem to be a feel-good factor in Meath presently and we must capitalise on this so spending on the Football team, so long as the team improves, is a catalyst for the County Board to increase revenue substantially.” 

Meath reported a surplus of €308,077 for 2023. County secretary Ciaran Flynn reported redevelopment work on Páirc Tailteann is due to begin in the second quarter of next year.