Promotion back to Division Two was good but Fermanagh captain Eoin Donnelly believes that their season will be defined by how they do in the championship.
Other than wins over Antrim, Fermanagh have struggled to make their mark in the Ulster Championship in recent times and it was something that Rory Gallagher stressed when he took the role, that Fermanagh need to win games in Ulster.
“The league is something that helps you build for championship and for the future, you want to be playing in as high a league as possible but realistically it is championship that is going to be what is remembered at the end of the year. Promotion was an aim and it was good to get it but ultimately it is going to boil down to championship.
“We have played Antrim a fair few times in Ulster in recent years and they are the only games that we have won, outside of that we need to start to push on,” said the Coa man.
It has been a new beginning for Fermanagh this year with Rory Gallagher having come in to take over the reins from Pete McGrath and Donnelly believes that Gallagher has brought a lot to the table.
“We’ve had a lot of good coaches but again Rory has brought something different. Personally speaking I feel that I’ve learnt a lot and there is a lot of good work being done. I feel that we are getting better and improving and we’re looking forward to the championship now to see if we can produce the performances to show that,” he added.
As ever, Donnelly is going to be a key man for Fermanagh on Sunday as they look to stop Armagh getting a grip in the middle third. The Orchard enjoyed the better of the battle in the Division Three final in Croke Park in that sector and Donnelly knows that it is crucial that Fermanagh get a good footing in middle of the park.
“We probably didn’t do as well as we would have liked in the last few games in that area and it is something we will want to improve on. They had a good bit of joy there, especially the last day in Croke Park, and as a midfielder you want to get on top in that area and get a platform in there. It will be something we will be looking to put right on Saturday,” he said.
Fermanagh lost the last day out against Armagh in the Division Three final and while it was disappointing not to have lifted the silverware, Donnelly feels that the important thing from that game is that they learn the lessons ahead of this Saturday’s championship clash.
“You have to learn from defeats and we have things to learn from the last day we played them. It is maybe good from the management’s point of view that they can say, ‘look the last day against these guys you lost so we need to get better.’ 
“It’s maybe something that has been used to push us on over the last couple of weeks, said Donnelly.