Wicklow face into their first home game in the National Football League against Leitrim on Sunday. This will be a day when all sections that go to make up this roadshow will be on trial in one way or another. Micko and his management team may not value the league that highly but they hardly want to see their team slip back into their old losing habits, just as it appeared that they found the knack of winning.

The team must put the bitter disappointment of letting a sevenpoint lead slip from their grasp in Ennis and losing a game that was theirs in the dying minutes.

The supporters - anyone remember our last game in Aughrim? It was against Down in the third round of the qualifiers.

The colour, the hype, the excitement as ice cool Tony stroked over the winning point from a '45'. And above all Micko waving to the big crowd who appeared to have no homes to go to.

The supporters will also be on trial on Sunday. Will they turnout in big numbers? Can they get that 'Aughrim roar' going again?.

It wasn't all doom and gloom in Ennis you know. We played a lot of good football, Hannon kicked some great points. The last line of defence did well, in particularly while Stafford was able to get back to field the high balls.

It did look as if we ran out of steam near the end. Jacko Dalton, who had covered a huge amount of ground and was involved in almost every movement and James Stafford have got in very little training; Alan Byrne is just back from injury while Brian McGrath and Leighton Glynn also took an extended rest.

However it is early days and the team as a whole will have benefitted from that outing.

Remember Micko is still in team building mode; he gave a first start to Paul Cunningham and Ciarán Jones last week and appeared to be reasonably pleased with what he saw.

Will he go for more new blood this time?

Players like Stephen Canavan, Mikie English and Niall Gaffney shaped up reasonably well in the O'Byrne matches. Stephen Mann was another to impress while Paddy Dalton is now fully recovered from injury and should be in line for a run.

The team is unlikely to be picked before the final training session in Baltinglass on Thursday night.

KEHOE SHIELD FINAL

The final of the Kehoe Shield is scheduled for Sunday but at the time of going to print little more is known about it.

Wicklow qualified for the final with a good win over Longford on Sunday but the other semi-final between Armagh and Fingal was postponed. That match is due to be played tonight (Wednesday) evening at a Dublin venue with the winners, if there is a winner, playing Wicklow.

Even the venue for the final cannot be decided until after the result of that semi-final in known.

Because this is a Leinster competition all outside teams like Armagh, Roscommon etc. must do the travelling.

So if Armagh win the game will be at a Wicklow venue, almost certainly Arklow. However, should Fingal win they have got a home draw for the final.

While Wicklow had a good enough win over Longford on Sunday the opposition may not have been all that strong.

That man we call 'Mister Hurling' in Wicklow, Jackie Napier was sounding a note of caution after the win on Sunday. Casey's team-building is going well, he said and there is a good spirit in the camp but they will come up against stronger opposition. One way or another Casey and his selectors, Brian and Gerry, are facing a tough task.

Dublin hurling is on a roll not seen in the capital before. When the city were winning All-Ireland titles a lot of the players were from the strong hurling counties.

That has all changed now when modern transport makes it easy for a player to return to play for his home county. The big drive to build hurling from juvenile and collage teams up is now starting to pay off.

All Dublin teams are benefitting so Fingal, on home ground will be no pushover.

Armagh are also working hard at their game, a point proved earlier this year when they travelled to Wicklow to play a practice game.

So one way or another Wicklow will have to be at their best if they are to start the year with a trophy for the sideboard.

- PETER KEOGH