Fermanagh manager Pete McGrath accepts that his U21 side will go into Wednesday night’s Ulster U21 clash against Cavan as massive underdogs but he is hopeful that they will do themselves justice on the night.

This age group struggled to make an impact at minor level and McGrath knows that they are going to face a huge test at Brewster Park against a fancied Breffni outfit.

“Cavan have been very strong at this age group for a number of years now and the word is that they are strong again so no-one is under any illusions about the size of the task facing the lads,” he said.

Only one of the current U21 squad in the senior panel this season, that being Cian McManus, and McGrath says that while the squad lacks a sprinkling of stardust, there is a good work ethic among the players.

“Cian is the only one on on the senior panel and there are no stand out superstars in the squad but they are an honest group. In terms of effort and commitment I could not fault the players, they have been very honest in their efforts so I just hope against Cavan that they do themselves justice. All we can ask as a management team is that they compete and perform but we know that it’s certainly a huge task.”

McGrath also reveals that preparations have not been ideal with the weather making things difficult in finding suitable training grounds.

“This last couple of weeks Lissan has been very bad and we simply couldn’t get another ground so we were restricted in what we could do. It has also been hard to get matches because of lack of pitch availability but as I say the group have committed and worked hard.”

Fermanagh will need to have everybody on top of their game if they are to make an impact next Wednesday night.

McManus is obviously going to be a leading figure in the side while Danny Leonard, David Teague and Garbhan Jones will also be expected to be at the fore. Leigh Jones and Damhan Sanderson are other who have caught the eye while Tiarnan Bogue and Michael Og McGarrigle joined up with the squad following St. Michael’s defeat in the MacRory Cup and could also play a part.