Fermanagh manager Pete McGrath will enter his second year in charge of the Erne county with a much clearer picture of the players he has available to him and he states that he will be setting out “well designed targets for next year”.

Fermanagh’s season came to an end on Saturday afternoon as they lost out by a single point to Laois in Portlaoise following a battling performance. However, in the immediate aftermath of the game, McGrath’s focus was already switching to the 2015 campaign. The former Down All Ireland winning manager was a late appointment to the position as he took over the reins from Peter Canavan and he readily admits that he knew little or nothing about the bunch of players he was inheriting.

With this in mind his goal going into the league was firstly to secure their status in Division Three, something they achieved comfortably.

“I was coming in as complete stranger, I had no idea of what player capability was there or what the personalities or characters were like. As you go along in your first season you find out about these things and at the end of the day we remained in Division Three, and that was our level. We know we played some marvellous football in Division Three but just at times there today, Laois’ power and ability to move the ball; they are a Division One team in many ways and that’s where we have to get too and it’s going to take a bit of time. I think what we have to do is set out fairly well defined targets for next year to make promotion a high priority and challenge ourselves in that way,” he said.

The young players that McGrath used over the course of the season will have benefited greatly from the experience they gained and it can only help them moving into next season. However, it will also be key to ensure that some of the more experienced players stay on board. Two time All Star Barry Owens has announced his retirement from inter-county football which makes it all the more important that the likes of Ryan McCluskey, Tommy McElroy and Eamon Maguire remain in the squad. Asked whether he hoped these players would give it another year, McGrath replied.

“I would like to think so. I think McCluskey showed today what he has to offer and it is important to hold on to these players.” Saturday, in a way, restored pride in the Fermanagh jersey after a disappointing performance against Antrim at Brewster Park in the Ulster Championship. And despite the defeat, McGrath had nothing but praise for the efforts of his players on Saturday.

“We can only be proud of our players today. I thought they performed heroically and showed enormous courage. At times we were like a boxer on the ropes but we kept coming back and played some marvellous football.

“I’m devastated and I know the players are devastated because they poured out so much into that game. To lose it by a point is very disappointing but I think we restored faith and belief in ourselves, and in Fermanagh football generally,” he commented.

Fermanagh showed great fighting qualities throughout the contest and in added on time they rattled over two points although Niall Cassidy could possibly have gone for goal with his effort. McGrath though was not faulting his defender.

“Niall could have gone for it but he took a point and that made it a one point game and the game was still alive. These are the things that make up the 70 minutes and we won’t give any blame for that. For long periods our players played brilliantly. They played with tremendous heart, energy and spirit and at the end of it I think we were highly unlucky not to push the game to extra time.

“At the end of it all, Laois are a team in the top echelons. Physically they are very imposing, they have a lot of really high class players but I think for a large extent we lived with them and we put them right to the pin of their collar,” he stated.

Fermanagh went into the game without two of their key performers in defender John Woods and forward Tomás Corrigan and McGrath accepts that they were missed on the day.

“We came without one of our recognised best defenders in John Woods and without our top scorer in the National League, Tomás Corrigan, and that’s bound to come home to roost to some extent in a game like this and I think maybe it did. Those who played though were brilliant,” he said.