Our U21 team suffered a disappointing defeat to Cavan last week.

Having heard the result, I took to Twitter to find out what went wrong. ‘A joke’, one person commented, ‘The future looks bleak’ wrote another and ‘Where is your pride?’ remarked someone else. Not very uplifting for the lads on the team but, to be honest, lack of success at youth level has always been an issue in Fermanagh.

If we look at the Minors – our record in the Ulster Championship does not make for very respectable reading. One win since an Ulster Final appearance in 2003 – that’s one win in thirteen years! This was against Derry in 2011 and we were duly defeated by Armagh in the next round.

Our record in the U21 Championship is not much better and as this cycle continues year after year, our underage players are developing low expectations and therefore a lack of pride and passion when they pull on the county jersey.

Expectations are so low that it seems like players are happy to go along to a few training sessions, pick up the gear and get their name in the match day programme. I’m sure this is not the case for a lot of players but it does seem as if we don’t place any importance on achieving success at underage level.

Having said that, I know that there are many people making a huge effort and committing time and money to the cause and in recent years the effort has increased dramatically. This is not a criticism of anyone in particular but overall it is not enough. Of course we can point to the fact that we have smaller numbers but maybe we could look at what structures other, more successful counties have in place, namely, our neighbours, Tyrone and Cavan. What have these counties done that has enabled them to produce successful youth teams over the past few years?

Furthermore, the players themselves need to step up and ask themselves are they doing what they can, to be the best they can be. The Maguire crest on the jersey should mean something and players need to respect this every time they pull it over their head. Yes, we can all underperform on the day - I have had more bad days than good on the pitch – but I like to think that I always prepared myself as best I could in terms of training and commitment.

One rule that does not benefit Fermanagh teams at either county or club level is that any player who wishes to play with their adult club team (either Senior, Intermediate or Junior) must be 17 years of age at the start of the year. A player who turns 17 during the course of the year is not permitted to play adult football. At inter-county level, the player must be over 18 years of age in order to play.

With the issue of burnout, I can understand why these age restrictions were implemented, however I don’t totally agree with them. I made my senior club debut when I was 15. Numbers were low and we may not have been a major force, with the team in transition. I was called in on a wet October evening for a home game against Kinawley. After that, I began training and playing with the seniors, gaining much needed experience. At 16, I had earned my place on the senior club team and was called up to the Fermanagh Minors.

Players today can use burnout as an excuse for not training and not putting in maximum effort. When I was 19, I played with four different teams; Fermanagh U21s, Queens, and club and county seniors. My knees and hips don’t thank me for it now, but I trained and played with these teams whenever I could and I enjoyed every minute of it. It sounds like I’m trying to preach here, but I wish that players today could see what a small window of time they have. How many of our county U21s are producing the goods for their senior club teams?

When I played with the minors, the players around me were all key senior players for their respective clubs. Barry Owens, Mark Little, Eamon Maguire, Shane Lyons, Shane McCabe and Ryan McCluskey to name a few. Ryan, at the time, was a key component on the Enniskillen side that was knocking on the door of winning an Ulster Club title. A few years later, the bulk of this same minor team reached an Ulster U21 final and a League U21 final. Most of us also went on to represent the senior county team, which I don’t think would have been possible if the current rules had been in place.

Success at underage guarantees very little when it comes to senior football but it is a great foundation to build from. Just getting on the county panel should not be enough. Being the perpetual gutsy losers should not be acceptable any more. As Leo Durocher, an American Baseball manager says, ‘Show me a good loser in…sport and I’ll show you an idiot.’ The whole point of being involved in competitive sport is achieving a win.