Fermanagh U-20 Manager Maurice McLaughlin is looking forward to getting down to work in the New Year.

McLaughlin feels that he has a good squad to work with in 2023, although he is under no illusions about the size of the task that lies ahead after Fermanagh were drawn against Derry in the Ulster U-20 Championship with the Oak Leaf having won the All-Ireland Minor with this group of players.

Under McLaughlin, Fermanagh did have a good run at Minor level themselves in 2020 with the likes of Ronan McCaffrey, Fionan O’Brien and Diarmaid King having all progressed into Kieran Donnelly’s Senior set-up, and will be key figures for the U-20s this season.

“We’ll get going in the first week of January and we are very excited with the squad that we have, but whatever was achieved at Minors a couple of years ago will count for nothing. The lads realise there is a lot of hard work to be done.

“Obviously, we have drawn Derry, which is very tough – they are All-Ireland Minor champions from 2020 – so we are under no illusion about the task that lies ahead, but we are happy with the squad we have, backboned by the Minor team of two years ago but also with a great crop of younger players coming through such as Conor O’Hanlon, Cian O’Brien and Cal McAnespy,” said McLaughlin.

McLaughlin has added to his backroom team ahead of the season, with former Fermanagh player Barry Mulrone now involved.

“Barry has come on board and is a very welcome addition. He has done great work with Devenish this year; he has been a big part of their success this year in winning the Intermediate, and it is great to have him on board.

“We also have Aidy McElroy, Colm Bradley, Tom Treacy and Gerard O’Brien in there, so we have a strong management team. We are looking forward to getting stuck into it.”

While the Ulster Championship clash with Derry will be the main focus for the management and squad, the immediate attention will be on the Philly McGuinness Cup, with McLaughlin believing that the games in this competition are perfect preparation for the Ulster Championship.

“We have Leitrim at home and Cavan and Longford away, and these are ideal preparation for the championship. As I say, we are looking forward now to getting started.”

"Barry has come on board and is a very welcome addition. He has done great work with Devenish this year, he has been a big part of their success this year in winning the Intermediate and it is great to have him on board. We also have Aidy McElroy, Colm Bradley, Tom Treacy and Gerard O'Brien in there so we have a strong management team. We are looking forward to getting stuck into it."

While the Ulster Championship clash with Derry will be the main focus for the management and squad, the immediate attention will be on the Philly McGuinness Cup with McLaughlin believing that the games in this competition are perfect preparation for the Ulster Championship.

"We have Leitrim at home and Cavan and Longford away and these are ideal preparation for the championship. As I say, we are looking forward now to getting started."