Fermanagh begin their NHL Division 3B campaign on Sunday with a difficult away game against Longford, but manager Sean Duffy is hoping that his side can go on and make it back into the final of the competition they won last year.

Fermanagh defeated Longford in the 2016 league decider but they failed to secure promotion when they were edged out by Tyrone in the promotion/relegation play-off game - a result which had an effect on the remainder of the season, according to Duffy.

“We won this league last year with much the same squad and our target is to try and make the league final again.

“To be honest, the league knocked the stuffing out of us last year. We won the final and then we had a play-off against Tyrone and they got a late goal to take it to extra time and they went on to win and it was very hard to take so that will be in the back of the boys minds,” he commented.

Duffy has lost the influential Danny Teague and Ciaran Corrigan who are part of Pete McGrath’s football squad but he wants to focus on the players who are available to him for the 2017 campaign.

“I would much rather concentrate on the boys we have than the boys we don’t. Shea Curran and Francie McBrien have returned to the squad and that has helped the squad big time as they are two experienced lads,” he said.

The current squad, which will be captained by Ryan Bogue has a good blend of youth and experience and Duffy is pleased with how things have been going so far.

“The boys have been back since December and they have been working hard under Aidan Ormsby.

“It would be a youthful enough squad but the core of experience is still there right down the spine with the likes of Mark Slevin, John Duffy, Sean Corrigan and Declan McGarry. There is a lot of good youth though coming through. The Russell brothers have really come on, Joe Gavin is putting in a big effort while Eoin Cleary who was a minor last year is showing great promise, so that is good.”

The format of the league though does not lend itself for much experimentation in terms of bringing in young players as there is little room for slip ups, says Duffy.

“There are limited games, there are only four games in the league and to try and get more games you have to push for the league final. However, in doing that, you are having to put out what you think is your best team every week and it is hard to get young lads games because you have to be at it right form the start. It’s a tough league to try and integrate young players into the team,” he explained.

Duffy expects that Sunday’s opponents Longford and Sligo are going to be the main challenge to Fermanagh and with both those games away from home he admits it makes it a tougher test.

“We will probably have a difficult league in that our two away games are against Longford and Sligo which you would think would be the two fancied sides on paper. It is a tough opener away to Longford and they have had competitive games under their belt in the Keogh Cup which is an advantage as we have only played a few challenge games,” he said.

And Fermanagh will also be without a couple of key players for Sunday’s game.

“Unfortunately, Declan McGarry cracked a rib and is going to be out for a month while Sean Corrigan is out of the country for Sunday so they will be a loss but we will still be going there to win the game and get off to a good start. A good league, whether it is in football or hurling, generally leads to a good championship so that’s what we are hoping for.” he stated.

There have been changes to the management team over the winter with Seamus McCusker stepping down as joint manager. Aidan Ormsby has now filled that position with Dermot Cleary and Steven Ormsby added to the backroom team. “Seamus going was a big loss but it’s also good to have new faces and new voices as it freshen things up,” said Duffy.