Thanks, but no thanks. Of course in county football the door is rarely shut on a permanent basis. But as far as the Mayobridge player is concerned he has been dropped from the Down panel.

The 26-year-old has been told that his present circumstances rule him out of helping Down win promotion from third grade National League football.

For some it might seem to make the role that Walsh has to play for Mayobridge in the replay of the Down final this afternoon against Longstone even more pressurised. The player sees it differently.

"There is always pressure in every big game. You always however have to have self-belief in your ability.

Nobody can give you that.

The moment you start looking over your shoulder and worrying about having to change your attitude to football is when your problems start."

But the letter was not one he had been expecting. There were the usual words of thanks for past services. The Down management duo of Ross Carr and DJ Kane lack nothing in directness. Their view was that the physiotherapy degree course being followed in London by Walsh made it impossible for the necessary commitment to be given to county football.

Walsh, however, sees things differently. Speaking about being discarded from the Down set-up he says the rejection has "only made him more determined than ever to get back on the county scene".

But with the determination there is also a sense of frustration. He believes that, given his commitment to Down over recent years, the least he could have expected was a face-to-face explanation for the decision. A telephone call at least from someone would not, he says, have "been that hard to make".

"Of course it has hurt me.

Being part of the Down squad hadn't proved a problem for the past couple of years while I was working for my degree.

I was always able to come back and take part in the key training sessions.

"After seven years as part of the Down squad it would have been nice if somebody could have found the time to at least telephone me. But at the end of the day the squad is down to the management.

They must feel that there are other players that can provide what they are looking for. It's their call."

This afternoon Walsh will be concentrating on being the one making the key calls for Mayobridge. The immediate objective will be to help his club maintain dominance in Down but there will be no lack of respect for the underdogs.

Injury concerns over Benny Coulter will also be an unwelcome part of the final equation. But it won't stop Walsh playing his clinical, probing style. Being the orchestrator behind the scenes is the fulfilment he seeks from football.

"The more success you have been fortunate enough to enjoy, the more you appreciate how much holding on to that success means. The prospect of losing gives you that extra edge, " he says.

The message is clear. Walsh intends to keep making the big championship calls for Mayobridge. The county call is for others to make.