Ryan Cathcart was captain in 2019 when Enniskillen Skins ended a barren spell of 82 years to lift the Towns Cup.

Since then he has hung up the Skins jersey and taken on the role of strength and conditioning coach with the club.

But he admits, he would love to still be pulling on the Enniskillen jersey as they prepare for another tilt at the Towns Cup when they take on Ballymena II in the final on Easter Monday.

He knows what it takes to lead a side to victory in the competition, something he will be bringing to the squad's preparations in the lead-up to the final.

Looking back at the process back in 2019, Cathcart explained: "I had a fair idea about what didn’t work particularly well going into a final.

"We had lost the final in probably the three or four years leading up to that point. I had a fair idea about what didn’t work particularly well going into a final.

"One of the things was getting a little bit too emotional about the occasion and overhyping things.

"Whereas going through your process and trying to take the emotion out of it to a degree and just focus on your rugby.

"Because I certainly found everybody was too hyped already without getting into big emotional speeches which generally tend to get boys at boiling point.

"[Just] keep composure go through our method and our process and you can think about how much it means to you after the game."

The former skipper is confident the current Skins squad can do this: "I think the team we have at the minute are incredibly consistent, a lot more than the team I played in.

"And I think they are fairly good at managing emotions and going through the process. They are well drilled that way and I think that is going to help them on the big day."

'Massive day'

The Towns Cup is a competition full of tradition. And it gives players the chance to etch their names in the history books for the clubs.

Cathcart knows there have been plenty of players who have gone through the Enniskillen club who have never picked up any silverware.

"It’s a massive day. Whenever I won we hadn’t won it since 1937, which is madness.

"So many legends from the club went through careers and didn’t come with any silverware from their time with Enniskillen so it was extremely meaningful and meaningful for older guys who had played for the club who were emotional about it. It was great.

"Our success  in the league has probably overshadowed the importance of cup goals and cup aims but now we are finished in the league we can focus fully on what it means to lift silverware because so many Enniskillen greats never got the chance to lift any silverware."

Impartial Reporter: Ryan Cathcart lifts the Towns Cup in 2019 following Enniskillen's win over Ballyclare.Ryan Cathcart lifts the Towns Cup in 2019 following Enniskillen's win over Ballyclare. (Image: Impartial Reporter)

Cathcart would love to be running out and playing in the final. And he wants the players to grasp the opportunity because if the club are looking to push further on, the opportunities may become a bit rarer.

"You get the Towns Cup and the Junior Cup which are really competitive and if you get a couple of really strong teams in that you might never get a sniff. It is tough. We went for a long time without winning anything.

"To get an opportunity and say you have won something with Enniskillen and come away with silverware is a massive thing that has eluded a lot of people.

"It is a huge opportunity and great to see the young guys get the opportunity for something like that.

"If we look on to other things [as a club] and possibly playing higher leagues you don’t get your opportunities in Towns Cup anymore and it could become even harder to come away with silverware.

"It's definitely meaningful and a huge opportunity."