Barry keen to get up to full speed

Editorial Department • Published 26 Jan 2012 13:00 0 Comments

Share this

Glad to be back...Barry Mulrone offloads the ball during Fermanagh's defeat to Tyrone in Armagh on Sunday.<<

Fermanagh defender Barry Mulrone feels that the performances of the players called into the McKenna Cup squad has made for a good competition for places as Peter Canavan gets ready to select his squad for the forthcoming Division Four campaign.

London lie ahead for Fermanagh next Sunday but Mulrone feels that with a number of players having caught the eye during the McKenna Cup, the first aim for everybody has to simply be to make the cut when the management sit down to decide on the make up of the squad.

"The first target for everybody is to get into the squad," said Mulrone. "There is a serious competition and the goal is to get into the National League squad and if you can do that then you can work towards trying to get into the plans for the London game."

Mulrone had undergone ankle reconstruction at the end of last year but his recovery is going well and he was pleased to be back in the side for the game against Tyrone last Sunday in the Morgan Athletic Grounds.

"The boys would say that I've wintered well," he laughed. "No, I think I'm coming on well. The last game I had played was the quarter-final of the championship for Devenish against Lisnaskea and I was just delighted to get a start against Tyrone."

The Garrison man admits that he was unsure about returning to the squad this year but a conversation with Canavan made his mind up. "What with last year and my Dad having been part of the management I did not know whether I was going to go back but I had a good conversation with Peter when he took over and that made my mind up. I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to play under him. There is a bit of a buzz about the county again and that is great to see," he stated.

Mulrone believes that reaching the semi-final of the McKenna Cup was a bonus and that the 11 point defeat on Sunday at the hands of Tyrone was probably a bit harsh on the side. "To be honest, if we had been offered getting through to the semi-final of the McKenna Cup at the start we would have taken it. It was an extra game for us which was important in terms of getting games.

"The scoreline on Sunday probably didn't reflect the game. I thought we did well during the first half but in the last ten or 15 minutes we tired and Tyrone pulled away. I thought though that we acquitted ourselves well," he said.

With Canavan coming into the role late Fermanagh started behind other counties but Mulrone explains that they are working hard to catch up. "Everyone knows that we are slightly behind other counties but the aspect that Peter, Enda and KD were looking at was getting the attitude and commitment right. Peter has said it is about inches and we're working hard to get our fitness levels up and the strength and conditioning sessions have been tough."

An opening win in the league will be the target when Fermanagh travel to play London although Mulrone states that revenge for last season's defeat in the championship will not be a motive.

"Our aim is the London game. We are not looking any further ahead than that, we are just focussed on the London game and trying to get a result. There has been no talk of revenge for the defeat last year (in the All Ireland Qualifiers), this is a brand new season and a brand new squad and we just want to try and be as hard working as we can."

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Jan 12

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.