Rory and Fermanagh target promotion

Editorial Department • Published 18 Feb 2010 10:46 0 Comments

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Fermanagh's John Duffy in action against Monaghan in the league last year. Fermanagh will be hoping to reverse their defeat to their neighbours on Sunday.

Fermanagh hurlers commence their league programme on Sunday with a trip to Inniskeen to take on home side Monaghan in Allianz National Hurling League Division Four.

Manager Rory O'Donnell is eager for his side to make a push for promotion to Division 3B in 2010 although O'Donnell, who is in his second year at the helm, knows that there is little room for error in a tight division. The division also includes Leitrim, Cavan, Longford and South Down and O'Donnell will be looking for his side to hit the ground running against neighbours Monaghan on Sunday.

The squad started training at the beginning of last month and O'Donnell says that they have put in a great effort so far.

"We would be entering the season with high expectations with the amount of training done since the start of January and everybody is raring to go," stated O'Donnell. "Noel McDonnell has come in to work on the boys fitness and they have responded very well to him. Noel is a hard task master but the boys have worked well with him and the fitness levels have come on."

Monaghan are expected to provide a tough test for Fermanagh but O'Donnell is hopeful that his side can return with two points in the bag.

"We'll be up against it. Monaghan are a tough team to crack and are a big, physical side but we will have the likes of Ryan Bogue, Karl Kehoe and John Duffy and hopefully they will see us to the win," he said.

And O'Donnell also feels that Lisnaskea's Paul McGoldrick can make a big impression in 2010.

"I maybe never really gave Paul a chance last year but I watched him a lot at club level with Lisnaskea in the summer and he really impressed me. He is a very good player and scored 14 points in the county final against Lisbellaw. He is also an excellent free taker. I don't want to put any pressure on any player but I do feel that he could be a big player for us this year," added Rory.

Fermanagh will be looking for promotion this year, but according to O'Donnell that will be the target for all the teams in the division.

"Our aim is the same as every team in that division and that is to try and get out of it. To do that you will need to win basically all your games so it will mean getting things off to a good start on Sunday. We will also want to give the Lory Meagher Cup a good shot later on in the year," he stated.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 18 Feb 10

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