Meath win stirred my soul again, but I won't be a fan in Croke Park

LIAM HAYES ON HOW HE'S STILL LEARNING ABOUT HIMSELF

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me saying I don't go to Meath games or if I had read that back in my day, I would have said 'f**k him, what does he know. He's got some attitude'.

“Because when you are in the middle of it, you think it’s life and death and the most important thing in the world. This summer already I've been driving in the opposite direction to thousands of Meath cars on match days because I'm going home to my senior mother in Skryne. And in those moments, I feel no guilt whatsoever.

“It just goes out of your blood. You are interested in the lads and you wish them the best and this summer it has been brilliant to see. Any time they are on the TV I'll watch them, but you wouldn't drag me to Croke Park.

“If you paid me 10 grand you wouldn't get me to Croke Park next Sunday. I know that sounds awful and please, mind me here, because I don't want to sound like I'm up my own arse. I'm truly not being disrespectful.

“It's a mental thing. When you are involved like we were in the day, you are living and breathing it, like its 24/7 for 10 or 12 years. Nothing else is important in life. And then when it ends, it ends with a bang, a crashing steel door and it's over.

“And you're out of it. Then that. I don’t think many don't think I have every fully you go through four or five or (ex-players) do that to be honest recovered from it.” six years, and this is true for with you.

every sportsperson, when you don’t know whether you are “Ah Jaysus, I'm not trying to coming or going. You feel guilty be up my own arse, but you just and you feel dispassionate and go into a different place you hope they lose all their mentally where you say ‘okay, I matches because you are not went through all of that, it’s part of it. You feel selfish and all over.” these horrible emotions.

“Then you come through that and you say ‘you know what, I may as well become a supporter or not’.