We talk to each club about their hopes for the new season which gets underway on Friday night.

DIVISION ONE

TEMPO MAGUIRES

Manager: Stephen Jackson

What are your hopes for the season?

We have a lot of young players on the team, aged 18-22, many of whom myself and the management team of Declan McStravick, Sean Breen and Brendan Fee have been coaching or managing since they were U-12/U-14.

We would hope to integrate all these lads into Senior football and set solid foundations in place for the adult teams in the club for future seasons.

We have some excellent older and experienced players who have seen it all at schools, club and county level, and would be wanting those guys to help set the standards.

Target-wise, a top-four end of the table and a championship final would be a goal – and then in a one-off type of season, one-off type things can happen.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

In the subsidiary competition we will be seriously stretched as we have four footballers, two hurlers and three in U-20s who will be available for games, but not training.

This will put a big demand on our player base but we hope to manage it as best as possible, and it will mean plenty of game time for the lads.

Avoiding injuries will be a major bonus, as we all know the long lockdown, sports layoffs, plus a short pre-season, is hard on the body.

We have some great games in store in the group with the two recent county champions, plus Kinawley, who will be at full strength with no county players, and our learning from those games will be massive for later in the year.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

The likely contenders for silverware are bound to be the usual teams with championship pedigree, Ederney and Derrygonnelly.

Kinawley operating with a full deck from day one, and Enniskillen Gaels with the depth of young talent really starting to come on strong, could also be a challenge.

KINAWLEY BRIAN BORUS

Manager: Ollie Fay

What are your hopes for the season?

The aim would be to hopefully improve from last year

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

Focus on every game and improve performances as it goes on.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

It is hard to look past Derrygonnelly in the league and championship.

DEVENISH ST MARY’S

Manager: Marty O’Brien/Sylvester Mulrone

What are your hopes for the season?

Our main hope would be to improve from last year; hopefully, we can find some consistency throughout the league campaigns and give ourselves a solid platform coming into championship.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

As above, to really try and find some consistency in our performances and our play.

We have some new young players available and some young players that have been around for a while, and this competition is a great opportunity for them to make their mark.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

League and championship, we would say the usual suspects won’t be far away, in Ederney and Derrygonnelly. We’d be expecting the Gaels to mount a serious challenge in both league and senior championship.

Intermediate championship is an interesting one; there is no outstanding team – it’s very, very even, and it really could go any way.

BELNALECK ART MCMURROUGHS

Manager: Colm Bradley

What are your hopes for the season?

We want to make full use of the league to learn as much as we can about playing at this level. Five games last year in a league with no relegation and promotion won’t have told us much.

We want to be competitive and retain Division One status – that is the goal for the league.

In championship, we want to win our quarter final game. That secures Senior status, and also puts you 60-odd minutes away from a final.

We have got there once before and were close to that final spot, so we want another crack at it.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

We have a lot of injuries at the moment and had to call a friendly off at the weekend as we only had 16 fit players – I was nearly having to put the boots on, myself!

But seriously, we want to blood some younger players while picking up as many wins as possible. Other teams will have larger hands to play from, but I’m very happy with what some of the younger players have been showing.

We will be down men, but that gives others a chance to shine.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

I think Enniskillen have the deepest squad in the county in terms of sheer quality – they probably have 30 players capable of playing Senior football to a high level.

Derrygonnelly are going flat-out to reclaim a championship and are another club with huge depth, and I expect them to be very strong all year.

Ederney are very talented, especially in attack, and I think if Marty McGrath continues to perform at a high level, they will be very difficult to beat, come championship.

Kinawley are another team doing a lot of work and have huge ambitions; they will fancy their chances and probably have the best squad assembled in the club’s history.

DERRYGONNELLY HARPS

Manager: Sean Flanagan

What are your hopes for the season?

That the season progresses uninterrupted and players get regular games, and that supporters get to watch the games. It is only when there are no games that we appreciate how much we miss them.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

It is an opportunity to introduce young players to a competitive environment. It is only in tight games that you really see who has the appetite for the challenge.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

I think many clubs will fancy their chances this season. In last year’s championship there was very little between the teams, with a lot of close matches.

ROSLEA SHAMROCKS

Manager: Peter McGinnity

What are your hopes for the season?

We hope to maintain our position in Division One and try and finish in the top half of it if we can.

We are in transition and have been for the last year or two, but we will always be there or thereabouts.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

We want to be competitive and we will be approaching it as diligently as we can, but we won’t be risking players in it who have niggles.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

I don’t see much of a change – Derrygonnelly and Ederney are the top two and are serious contenders, and then the rest of us have aspirations to contend.

IRVINESTOWN ST MOLAISE

Manager: Lawrence Largo Elis/Aidan Ormsby

What are your hopes for the season?

We will look to ease our way in and we want to be competitive at the sharp end of the season. We are transitioning with our squad and we have a lot of young players, but our hope is that we are competitive.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

We have a tough group so it will be a learning curve for a lot of the lads coming in, but we also want to be competitive in it.

We will obviously be without two of our main players, but so will the other sides, and I think this competition will tell us where we are at.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

In the league you would think that Derrygonnelly and Ederney will be leading the way, and it is the same in the Senior championship, while Enniskillen could also give the championship a run.

We are in the intermediate championship and it is always very competitive, and any team could win it.

I suppose the key thing is to get that first win.

ENNISKILLEN GAELS

Manager: John Reihill

What are your hopes for the season?

We want to remain competitive in Division One when the full league starts and, obviously, we are looking forward to playing in the Senior championship again.

It is one thing playing these teams in the league, but coming up against them in the championship is another big step up again.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

We will be treating it as an extension to pre-season because of the fact that we are going to have to play without so many players.

We have a number of players representing the county and we also have so many involved in the county U-20s, and they are training Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, so we have to be responsible as management with them.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

I think because of the format of the league it will come down to form and getting a good start.

In terms of the championship, Derrygonnelly will be looking to regain the title, which is a massive driving force and then you have Ederney, who will be aiming to retain and show that last year wasn’t a one-off.

You have Belnaleck, who have been knocking out for a couple of years now, and although they are missing a few players they are still strong, while Kinawley are better than they showed in their semi-final loss last year.

EDERNEY ST JOSEPH’S

Manager: Mickey Cassidy

What are your hopes for the season?

We want to build on last year and try and retain the championship and get a good run in the league, but we know that Derrygonnelly are still going to be the team to beat.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

We have seven players on the county squad, and we have injuries to Marty McGrath and Stephen McElrone, so that is a lot of players down from our starting team. It will be more or less used to introduce young boys to the team and to give them a chance to play against the big teams.

We have Derrygonnelly, Kinawley, Irvinestown and Tempo in our group, and it is a good chance for the good batch of young lads we have coming through to gain experience of that standard of football.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

Derrygonnelly will certainly be the top dogs. They had won five in a row, so they will be going out to prove last year was a blip and reinforce their position as the top team in Fermanagh, and the fact that they have Jones’s boys with them full-time will only strengthen them.

Outside of that, Belnaleck with a full team will be a formidable force, while an up and coming Enniskillen are improving every year.

ERNE GAELS

Manager: Seamus Ryder

What are your hopes for the season?

We want to maintain our Division One status and hopefully get a good rattle at the Intermediate Championship.

What are the aims for the subsidiary competition?

We are looking to get a couple of wins on the board to set us up for the league when it starts, and we also want to get a few young lads blooded in during these games.

Who do you see as being the main contenders in the league and championship?

You would have to feel that Derrygonnelly and Ederney will be up there in both the league and the Senior championship. In terms of the intermediate championship, it is going to be tight and you would think it will be very competitive.