Enniskillen rugby coach Stephen Welsh has targeted a top four finish in Kukri Qualifying Division One ahead of the season kick off on Saturday.

Enniskillen finished in seventh spot and won the Towns' Cup in their previous campaign, but after a good pre-season Walsh is hopeful they can improve on their league finish this time around.

“We had a good run in the cup last year obviously, and we would like a good run in the league this year and aim for top four which would give us Junior Cup next year,” he revealed.

“We haven’t really focussed on the Junior Cup much in the last few years, so we would like to give it a rattle this year. It has been a shorter off season with the Towns' cup final but everyone is mad to get back at it again. I’m very happy with the pre-season. The boys are looking fit and sharp and we have had a couple of good warm up games. I am very happy and everything has gone well.”

Enniskillen have added two new faces to the first team squad, with Joshua Kennedy and Nathan Patterson both pulling on the shirt for the upcoming season. The club have also managed to retain all of last season’s players, although Alan Lendrum will miss the start of the campaign having picked up an injury.

“Joshua Kennedy from Armagh was the captain at Portora has signed for us and he has looked very sharp in pre-season, and Nathan Patterson played in a warm up game for us but he is coming back from injury,” said Walsh.

“They are the only two who have really forced their way in, but we have kept everyone. Unfortunately Alan Lendrum picked up an injury in pre-season that will put him out for a few months but Alan has been a big part of this team for four years and he will come back stronger.”

Enniskillen will start their league campaign with a mouth-watering local derby clash against Clogher Valley, and the Skins coach reckons it is ideal way to start the season.

“It doesn’t get much better than that,” he said

“It is obviously a big rivalry and then you throw in the Towns' Cup last season with us winning it at the death, and that will make it a wee bit more spicy. I’m sure they are thinking that they couldn’t have asked for a better game to get them started back in the league. It’s good to get them back and it will be a nice competitive opener for us. Clogher are a great side and Stevie Bothwell is doing a fantastic job with them but I think if we turn up and stick to our game plan, I’m confident that we could beat almost anyone in the league on our day. I’m very confident going into Saturday.”