Fermanagh ladies shot-stopper, Shauna Murphy, cannot hide her enthusiasm as she speaks about the upcoming National League opener.

The trip to Roscommon on Sunday will be the first competitive action for the Erne side since their Junior All-Ireland triumph in December.

With collective training only resuming for county squads last month, Murphy says there is a huge buzz about the ladies squad since the return.

Looking ahead to the game against the Connacht side, Murphy said: “I can’t wait! I think this lockdown seemed longer than the last one.

“Last year, we didn’t know how long it was going to be but we got back and because we got back – to then be stopping again – it felt like it took forever to get back out.

“And when we went back out to training, there has been such a buzz from everybody and it has been that way the whole way through, and now we just can’t wait to get going.”

The Fermanagh squad did not rest long after their All-Ireland wins as individual programmes were dished out just a couple of weeks later to make sure players could hit the ground running at training.

It will hopefully stand the Fermanagh team in good stead in what is expected to be a tough league campaign.

“We know it is a big step up. We were playing Division Three last year, and it was kind of a mismatched campaign, and it all cut off for obvious reasons.

“We played Roscommon last year and I don’t think we did ourselves any justice in that game.

“This year, we want to make an impact on the league and in the Intermediate championship, we are not just here to take part – we are here to compete at all levels.

“So we are looking forward to Roscommon and to getting a good start to the league. Doing that against a strong Roscommon team would be perfect, but we have to take each game as they come and, hopefully, it will go well this weekend,” added the Enniskillen Gaels player.

With fewer league games to be played due to the Division being split into regions, Murphy knows that there is little room for error if Fermanagh want to stay in Division Three.

“I think it heightens the importance of every game we play now. There is very little room for any mistakes. We have to go out and aim to win every game if we want to take anything from the league

“We know it is a big step up, and we know it is not going to be simple, but we are so looking forward to it,” added Murphy.

With plenty of competition for places amongst the squad, Murphy is confident Fermanagh ladies can build on their memorable 2020 season.