Fermanagh manager Pete McGrath feels that his side have learned plenty from their four McKenna Cup games as their focus now switches to a league opener against Down in Newry on February 4.

Going into the competition, McGrath was keen to see all his squad in action during the group stages while he also wanted them to progress from the group.

In terms of objectives then it was goals achieved in many ways this month although there will have been disappointment that the two games against the so called bigger counties, Monaghan and Tyrone, ended in narrow defeats.

On Sunday, Fermanagh went down by three points at the semi-final stage to Tyrone and although the Red Hands were worthy winners, McGrath was disappointed with the defeat.

“We are disappointed at having lost because even though at times Tyrone did control the game, we had chances and at times we showed what we were capable of doing but we didn’t show it consistently enough over the 70 minutes. We came back strong enough in the end to lose by only three but it is still another defeat to a so called big team. Overall though when you reflect on the four matches I think we have learned a lot and I think the players will have learned a lot,” he said.

He does though believe that games against the likes of Monaghan and Tyrone will serve them well moving into the league campaign.

“Tyrone are a highly experienced, they have a big pool of players and are an accomplished team and I would like to think that’s what we are targeting to be. We are in Division Two this year and it is going to be very competitive with a lot of tough matches and you would like to think that McKenna Cup campaign will bring us on. Now we just have to get our heads down, work diligently and get our minds ready for the start of the National League on Saturday week.”

The Fermanagh boss was annoyed with some of the free kicks his side conceded in Clones.

“Defensively I thought we were good up to a point. To concede 0-14 in a match you would say that you have a good chance of winning it but what annoyed me defensively was that we gave away a number of needless frees in very scoreable positions that of course Tyrone converted. We have to stop doing that because when you go out against a team of the calibre of Tyrone you have to make sure that you don’t give them anything for nothing,” he commented.

And at the other end of the pitch, it was again a case of wasted chances, especially early on.

We played some good football in the first half, particularly in the first 15 or 20 minutes when we created good openings, but we didn’t take the opportunities and it is a double whammy when maybe you have a good move and it doesn’t end in a score and they go down the other end and put the ball over your bar.

“These are the things we have to deal with but if we are prepared to sit down and learn the hard lessons and seriously factor them into how we approach matches then it will be a game that will have benefitted us.”

Ryan Jones didn’t feature during the McKenna Cup due to a hip problem and McGrath doesn’t think that the big midfielder is going to be available for the Down.

Ryan is due to get an injection this week which will mean he won’t be able to do very much for eight or nine days after that.

“At this stage the chances are that Ryan will take no part in the Down match but the next league match against Galway, he is potentially a candidate to take some part in that,” said McGrath.

There was game time though for Sean Quigley with McGrath feeling that the Roslea man is making good progress following minor surgery.

“Sean is working hard, he maybe still has a bit of work to do but he is moving in the right direction.

“He is a talented player, we all know his value to the team and hopefully he will contribute against Down and we look forward to him getting into the shape to allow him to the footballer he really can be.”

Another plus from the McKenna Cup was that Daryl Keenan featured in three games after missing the best part of two years through injury.

“The fact that those three matches have come inside a compact period of time maybe wasn’t ideal for him but he got the game time which was important.

“We are delighted that he is making the progress he is making and I’m looking forward to him contributing significantly as the league goes on.”