FORMER Fermanagh captain Raymond Gallagher insists his county must set their sights on silverware and improving their structures, not just be pleased with winning a few matches.
Gallagher chooses his words very carefully, making it clear that he believes the Fermanagh squad of 2015 have made huge strides under Pete McGrath, but he also urges a word of caution.
“I think that it is important that things are put into context. I think runs into the Qualifiers are great but Fermanagh need to be winning silverware. That is what it is all about,” he said.
“I think you play the game to win trophies and I don’t think Fermanagh should be content with a run to the quarter-finals if they do beat Westmeath, but I think sometimes as a county we can be happy with a decent run and we don’t build on it.”
When Gallagher talks about building on the success of what has been achieved this year, he is not talking about the efforts of the players but rather he sees Fermanagh as needing to look root and branch at their structures.
“I think we are a good bit behind. Just look at the Ulster minor club tournament. I don’t think a Fermanagh team has been competitive in that for a long time,” he said.
“Most of the time our champions get a real hammering in that competition and that, to me, shows something. As a county we have to make sure that there is a solid basis there and I don’t think there is at the minute.”
Gallagher was a player when Fermanagh first met Westmeath in the Qualifiers back in 2002.
He had played six days earlier in the side’s defeat to Armagh in the quarter-final of the Ulster Senior Football Championship.
In the preliminary round, his cousin and current Donegal manager Rory had hit 3-9 to leave Monaghan in tatters but their dreams of a first Ulster title were shattered by Armagh in the next round.
“I remember I had ankle ligament problems before the Armagh match, I really shouldn’t have played and was taken off after about 40 minutes,” he said.
“I had the problems again the following week against Westmeath but things went a bit differently and I think I managed to get five or six from play that night. Those were the good nights.”
Fermanagh’s run through the back door came to an abrupt end the next day out when Kerry gave them a hammering in Portlaoise, leaving their season with the curious fact that they were beaten by both that year’s All-Ireland finalists.
Their appetite had been whetted for the scenic route, however, and they were to make better use of it in both 2003 and 2004, reaching
All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals in the process.
“I think back then there was a real newness to the Qualifiers.
“It was fresh and we were playing teams we never played in Championship before which was always good. I’m not sure if there is the same buzz about them now,” Gallagher said.
One thing, though, that Gallagher did say will give the Fermanagh players a buzz is beating Westmeath again this Saturday. Fermanagh are ‘2 and 0’ against the Leinster men in the Qualifiers, having also won in 2013 when Peter Canavan was in charge.
“For players you are always focused on the next game and when you win a big Championship game there is always a great high. But unfortunately it leaves you pretty quickly and I think that is why winning a trophy is something that every player wants because maybe it lasts that bit longer. It is something tangible.”
In terms of Fermanagh this season, Gallagher is frank in his assessment that they are not All-Ireland contenders:
“I think the way the game has gone it is going to be next to impossible for someone from outside the top four or five to win the All-Ireland. And maybe that was the case when we were playing too.
“But I think for Fermanagh, they have to look at winning an Ulster title. And for that to happen the structures need to be better than what they are.”
