Time for players to believe

Editorial Department • Published 4 Mar 2010 14:42 0 Comments

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Fermanagh manager Malachy O'Rourke is looking for big performance on Saturday night.<<

Fermanagh manager Malachy O'Rourke accepts that his side will face their biggest challenge this season so far when they travel to Casement Park on Saturday night to take on high flying Antrim.

Liam Bradley's side have won both their opening games to date in the league which is impressive when it is taken into consideration that this has been achieved without their St. Gall's players.

Fermanagh, meanwhile, are among a group of teams sitting on two points with defeat to Offaly followed by a fortunate victory against Roscommon.

"It is definitely a big challenge as Antrim are going very well and are the only team to have won both their games so far in our division. If you were looking at the game on paper, what with Antrim having beaten Cavan and Cavan having hammered Roscommon who we were only beat with a late goal, then it would look a very big task, especially going to Casement Park. But that is not the way football works and we will be going there looking for a big performance, which is what we'll need if we are to win the game," he said.

It has been a disappointing start to the league campaign for O'Rourke's side with the manager having been forced to throw more inexperienced players in together than he would have wished.

"With the amount of boys missing it is a bigger transition that we would have liked. There are a number of fellas who have been getting their first taste of inter-county football and we want to give them the time to settle into it. I have to say that we are delighted with the attitude of the boys," he commented.

And he does feel that things will eventually come together for the team if they continue to put in the work.

However, with Antrim looking full of confidence at present Fermanagh will enter this contest as underdogs, and it is a tag that O'Roruke would rather not have.

"To be honest I would rather have pressure the other way and us be favourites. In Fermanagh we have had to live with the underdog tag for long enough and it is something that we would hope to get rid off and we want to be as good as we possibly can. If you look at the bare facts, we have played six competitive games so far and we have won four and lost two. We haven't been pleased with our last two performances but it is important for the players to keep working and their form will improve. We know how much work the players are putting in and it is a matter of them keeping doing that and making sure they don't get despondent. They have to believe in themselves because we believe that they are good enough," he added.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 04 Mar 10

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