‘Promotion is a real ambition’ states Erne boss McGrath

Fermanagh were involved in a relegation scrap on the final day of the league last season although the closeness of matters in the division meant that the draw with Tyrone actually saw Fermanagh secure a fourth place finish.

McGrath knows that his side are going to have to be on top of their game if they are to achieve a top two finish but he is looking for his side to take that next step and push for promotion.

“We are going into it very optimistically. There is nothing out there that I’m afraid of and there’s nothing out there that’s going to beat you off the pitch. But at the same token there is nothing out there that we can undervalue. All the teams in this league are good, creditable county teams and in order to beat them we have to be playing well, playing with belief and taking a high percentage of our chances. I think that our level at the moment is near or at the top of Division Two, that’s where I think our level is and that’s why I think promotion is a very real ambition that we have the right to have and that is our target and it’s what we’ll be pushing towards,” he said.

Fermanagh start their campaign on Saturday night with a meeting against Down in Newry and while it will be a strange feeling for McGrath to be in the opposition dugout against a county that he led to two All Ireland titles, he stresses that his only concern is pushing Fermanagh football forward and getting the win.

“It’s unusual but I seen it coming down the track so I’m well prepared for it,” said McGrath. “It’s my fourth year in Fermanagh and I’m well used to being regarded as the Fermanagh manager and that is what I’ve put my energy and time into. Fermanagh football matters to me and this group of players matter a lot to me; I know how much they have put in and I know how capable they are and how committed they are.

“The only thing that matters to me on Saturday is that these players go out and perform and get the result to push Fermanagh football forward in the right direction.”

Division Two is once again likely to be highly competitive and McGrath accepts that a winning start is important.

“In a section that is going to be a tight every game is important and psychologically the first match in any competition always carries a little bit of extra importance because it could just determine what the players initial view of the season will be and if that’s a winning start then positivity and confidence just soar whereas if it’s not a win then you are on the back foot a bit. But at the end of the day each game is worth two points and we’ll just take each game as it comes,” he commented.

Like Fermanagh, Down will be targeting the points from the opening game and they will be keen to make up for a disappointing 2016.

“Down realise that they had a poor year last year but I know that they have been working quite hard. They had a decent enough McKenna Cup and there is no doubt that they are moving in the right direction.

“Just reading the local papers in Down, they are all referencing the first game against Fermanagh as being very important to get confidence and to get them off to a winning start and get rid of the ghosts of last year.

“They will be competitive and they will be formidable enough but there is nothing there that we can’t match and overcome if we are at our own game,” added McGrath.

And the Fermanagh manager expects there to be a good atmosphere under the lights in Newry on Saturday night.

“Matches under lights on a Saturday night always seem to generate an atmosphere. They seem to be more intense, they seem to be faster and the crowd seems to be in on top of you but we know what to expect having been in the Athletic Grounds to face Armagh this last two years on a Saturday night and we can deal with that.

“I think we can go to Newry with great confidence that the players are more than capable of getting the result we need to get this league campaign off to a good start.”