Fermanagh captain, Declan McCusker, is well aware of how hard it can be to break into a starting team.

Last season, injury hampered his preparations for Fermanagh and it meant he was not a regular feature in the first 15 as he would have been in previous seasons.

This season is a different story. 

He has stayed injury-free and has been Fermanagh's most consistent performer through the Dr. McKenna Cup and National Football League (NFL) Division Two campaign.

Deployed at wing-back he has been a vital cog in the Fermanagh rearguard but has also provided a real scoring threat with his name on the scoresheet in most games.

"Staying fit is massive," said the Ederney man who added: "Last year I was injured at the start of the year and couldn’t get into the team. Whereas this year I've stayed fit.

"Once you are in the team from the start it is easier to stay in it than to try and break into it.

"And just the fact of being fit and playing every game - game time just brings you on. Every game you play you sort of feel better, you get a bit fitter and more comfortable with it.

"I have been happy enough with my performances for the most part, so far."

But McCusker also knows that if he does not perform there are players ready to step in.

It is this that has helped push him on. As one of the elder statesmen of the Fermanagh squad - he is now in his 14th season with Fermanagh - he is getting to the point where the next game could well be his last.

But he wants that. He wants to be pushed. And performances show it has helped him this season.

"That’s the way it should be anyway.

I suppose maybe some boys in previous years, you would feel a bit more comfortable in your position.

"But I think there are a lot of boys coming through there, especially around that half-back line and middle third.

"Fionan [O'Brien] is back and he got into the team there for the end of the league. Then you have Josh [Largo-Elis], Ronan [McCaffrey], Shane [McGullion]. There is a lot of quality in around there so if you're not performing you're easily replaced."

His scoring threat has certainly helped keep in the side and the Fermanagh captain knows that it is an aspect of today's game that he had to pick up again: "

"It's something probably I had let go for a few years. I hadn’t been scoring enough when I was playing.

"I think it is massive that you are chipping in with a point or two from the half-back line and always puts a wee gloss on the performance if you score too."

"Chipping in with scores is massive. It's key for the team and also key personally because it gives you great confidence."

Against Armagh, McCusker will be hoping he can contribute to the scoreboard again in a game that has the Orchard County as strong favourites.

They should be. Promoted to Division One while Fermanagh went the opposite way down to Division Three.

Armagh beat Fermanagh in Brewster Park during the league. And while they were competitive for most of it, McCusker knows performance levels will have to be a lot higher come the white heat of the Ulster Championship.

"It was competitive but I suppose if you are really honest once they got that four or five up we never really looked like pegging them back.

"They’ve been very sound defensively in the league they hadn’t conceded any goals up until the last game. We might need to get a goal to beat them.

"We are definitely going to have to be at a higher level than when we played them in the league."

But McCusker believes if it is tight as the full-time whistle approaches, the pressure could mount on the favourites: "When you are playing a team of their quality you have to keep it tight. You need to be in the game because they do have the quality to blow you away if you're not at it. They could blow you out of the water.

"You have to make sure you are in the game with 10 minutes to go. I think if we take them down the stretch, I don’t think they will expect that and there might be a bit of a shock factor for them and put them under pressure.

"If we can be competitive and stay in the game and still in the balance with 10 to go they’ll maybe start to worry a bit," McCusker concluded.