Back in the green jersey for another year and back controlling and organising the Fermanagh defence.

You would not have thought that 35 year old Ryan McCluskey had missed the vast majority of last season with a hip problem that ultimately needed surgery as he produced a strong performance in Pairc Esler on Saturday night as Fermanagh got their league campaign off on a winning note.

The experienced defender was in his familiar role sitting in front of the full back line where he cut out a number of balls aimed at the Down full forward line as well as barking out instructions to those team-mates around him.

For the player himself though it was simply about winning the game.

“I suppose for ourselves if we have aspirations of promotion, which we do, it was a must win game,” he said.

“Obviously, every game is important but the first couple of games in any league campaign are always critical and I thought we deserved the win. We were disappointed with how we finished the first half but I think we learned from our mistakes and we pushed on in the second half and we were comfortable near the end of the game,” he added.

McCluskey is among the longest serving players in the country and he says that he is just pleased to be still able to pull on the Fermanagh jersey.

“I’m delighted to be back and I’m very lucky that I was in the position to start on Saturday night. I’m grateful to get the opportunity to put the green shirt on as it’s something I have loved doing and continue to love doing.

“It’s great to be playing at that level because if you had asked me around the time of the injury last year, I wasn’t sure at all whether I would get the chance to play at this level again. It’s great to be back training and playing with what I think is a very strong squad,” he added.

Indeed, the Enniskillen Gaels man feels that it is that squad depth that is pushing everyone on.

“There were a number of big players who left at the end of last year, and they were big players not only on the pitch but off the pitch as well, so it is great to see players stepping up. Even at the weekend it would have been very hard for Pete and the management team to even name the squad for the game, never mind the starting team and that’s what you want.

“It’s what every player needs, from a seasoned campaigner to a player coming new into the squad, you need that competition for places and it’s great that we are really starting to push on in terms of having competition in every position and hopefully that will stand to us as we move on through the season,” he stated.

It’s Galway who are the visitors this Sunday at Brewster Park and McCluskey knows that it is going to be a difficult game as Fermanagh look to make it two wins in a row.

The defender though is hoping that the supporters can get right behind the side as they have done in recent years and help turn the Enniskillen ground into a fortress.

“Every county side wants to win their home games, it’s important that you do that in the league, and that’s our aim. The support has been great at Brewster Park and hopefully they will get out and get right behind us again this season to make Brewster a fortress.

“We know we have a massive test at the weekend against Galway but if we can start with two wins it would go a long way in our push for promotion,” he said.