Declan Byrne is convinced that Louth are a better team than their performance in the 2011 Senior Football Championship suggested.
Following success in the National Football League, the Wee County fell to one-point defeat in their opening Championship fixture - against Carlow in Portlaoise in the quarter-finals of the Leinster competition.
Louth entered into the qualifiers, only to suffer a 5-08 to 2-08 defeat at the hands of Meath in the opening round.
Byrne, however, believes that his side will be back on track in 2012.
“Last year ended up being a bit of a disaster,” the corner back admitted to The Irish Mail on Sunday. “It never really got going for us, even after we won the Division Three title.
“But we are definitely a better team than we showed in 2011.”
Last year’s disappointing campaign came after Louth, in 2010, reached the Leinster final for the first time in half a century, as they fell to an infamously controversial defeat to Meath.
Byrne added: “For whatever reason, (last season) there wasn’t the same buzz around the panel or the same hype around the county.
“It didn’t feel the same as 2010 and maybe motivational levels and commitment levels had dropped a little. We were never able to get up to that same level in 2011.”