Irvinestown native Josh Largo Elis is hoping Fermanagh can bounce back from their league final defeat to Cavan in Croke Park two weekends ago and says there are lessons to be learned from the loss ahead of their Ulster Championship game with Derry in Brewster Park on Saturday.

“Obviously there was disappointment within the team after the defeat by Cavan, especially when I feel we did not play to the best of our potential.

“Although that’s the reality of sport, some highs and some lows but there are learnings we can take from looking at our performance both collectively and individually,” said Largo Elis.

However, the defeat had to be put quickly behind them with the Derry game fast approaching on the horizon.

“We quickly turned our focus to the championship; training on Tuesday night which has installed a new buzz within the squad, each of us preparing and driving each other on for the next challenge at the weekend.

“It’s going to be a very tough game for sure, as Derry have proved that they are a top-class team, but we know what to expect from them as we have previously played them in the McKenna Cup, getting to know their key players.

“They have similar players to the likes of Down and Cavan, so we have gained from these experiences.

“We have studied them well and I feel that if we stop their key men and play our own game it will be a competitive and exciting game.”

Fermanagh’s league performances impressed many in the county and Largo Ellis says he has noticed a change among his teammates this season.

“The league performance has given us great confidence going into the championship as we have performed to a high standard, getting promotion up to Division Two, gaining belief in ourselves and Gaelic as a whole in the county of Fermanagh.

“The team has evolved really well this season; with the experience of some of the lads and also the youth within the squad.

“We have a close-knit team this year who understand each other and have the ability to evolve with any change.

“Ronan O’Neill was added to the management this year and has helped us a lot with our forward play but the management team as a whole work tirelessly behind the scenes to promote success.”

He admits progress has been made.

“We have just continued to drive on from last year, we are always striving to better ourselves both individually and collectively.

“At the start of the year, we did discuss our goals for the season, our main priority for the league was to get promoted but we just took each game as they came, focusing on how we could achieve the win. I don’t particularly like speaking about my performances but in order to become a better player I need to establish improvements.

“I enjoy every game I go to play in but there are certain areas that I am working on such as taking my own score when in the right position and using my pace to take on the opposition.”

Fermanagh will be hoping to turn heads in Ulster as they look to knock out Rory Gallagher’s current Ulster championship holders and Largo Elis is embracing the challenge that lies ahead:

“Who wouldn’t want to beat the current Ulster champions? It would be a massive statement to beat them in our home ground but we have to look at it as just another game and forget the big occasion.

“We understand what they will bring but it’s more so about our game, and if we perform to the best of our ability, we have every chance of winning.”