Enniskillen Rangers player-manager Michael Kerr is in no doubt about the quality of his side as they secured a second successive Irish Junior Cup title with a 2-0 victory over Greenisland at the National Stadium at Windsor Park on Monday.
Winning it last year was a fine achievement but going out and retaining it was another step up again.
“I was delighted to get two in a row,” said Kerr. “I said to the lads beforehand, to go and win one was an outstanding achievement, and it takes a good team to go and win the Junior Cup, but it takes an absolutely fantastic team to go and win it again. 
“It shows the character of the lads to come back and work so hard for ten months and commit to the training and commit to actually wanting to win something so badly,” he stated.
Greenisland caught Kerr out with their tactics in the early stages but once the ‘Gers found their feet and took the lead through a Jason Keenan penalty they never really looked back.
“They quite surprised me. We had them watched, the keeper has a big kick and they were going quite long. That’s what we expected and we had set up for that so it took us a while to adjust when we had so many bodies back to press up again. 
“We were using a lot of energy by going back to go forward so it took us a while to get going but once we got into it we settled and the first goal was typical Rangers in the way we play. We had five, six, seven passes, Cripper came off the left wing, he went through the middle and was hauled down and I never doubted for one second that Jason would score the penalty. 
“It was nip and tuck after that but Jerome didn’t have any saves to make and when we got the second it was a big relief,” he added.
Kerr admits though that he had a couple of tough days in the lead up to the game as he decided team and his squad for the final.
“I had two stressful days there, they were really hard because I have four boys sitting up in the stand there who didn’t make the squad and then you have to put five boys on the bench. It’s not nice at this level, it’s maybe alright for top managers who are getting paid a lot of money to do it but at this level, these boys are my friends, there is Christopher Keenan and Mattie Chambers who are two of my best mates who I left out of the squad so that wasn’t nice.
“It had to be done though, and the squad we picked and the team we picked and I think we were proven right again. We got a clean-sheet, we won 2-0 and to bring this trophy back to Enniskillen means a hell of a lot. It’s absolutely fantastic,” said the ‘Gers boss.
After last season, Kerr went and added to his squad and he feels those players helped lift the bar again.
“ I do  feel the quality of the players I have signed to come into the club has upped it since last year. Richie Johnston played centre half and was excellent, Jason was signing and he was excellent and scored the two goals.”
And he admits he has already started thinking about next year and a third tilt at the crown.
“I have already been speaking to boys and it will be a target to come back here next year for a third time. 
“We are the best in Northern Ireland, we have shown that and we’ve backed that up and we’ll be putting everything into coming back here again next year,” he stated.