MONAGHAN’S Allstar forward Conor McManus is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead this weekend when his side lock horns with fierce rivals and near-neighbours Cavan in the opening round of the Ulster SFC at Kingspan Breffni.
The Farneymen have been on the receiving end of shock semi-final results in the past two seasons, losing to Down and Fermanagh respectively.
“Last year we beat Tyrone in Omagh in the first round but then lost to Fermanagh and that is the nature of the Ulster Championship, you simply can’t take your eye off the ball,” says McManus.
“Your first game or your next game is the only one that exists.
“If we have learned anything from the Championship over the past few years we have learned that, not that we needed to be taught it.
“That’s how difficult the Ulster Championship is. Every team that is in it wants to win it but you can’t look past your first game.
“It’s four years since we last won Ulster so we are as far back as any team if you want to look at it that way.
“Form means nothing, it never has done when Monaghan meet Cavan, this is a standalone game.
“Anything that has gone before and the fact that we have won a couple of Ulster titles in recent times is irrelevant really and it will all come down to the performance over the 70 minutes.”
Cavan made the drop out of the Allianz Football League Division One this season but McManus knows that counts for nothing in the white heat of Championship battle.
“The rivalry between Cavan and Monaghan goes away back and as far as I can remember it was always a game that stood out for both sets of supporters,” he said.
“It’s a game that we are always looking forward to and is a great contest to kick-start the Ulster Championship.
“Breffni Park is a very tough place to get a result, particularly in the Championship, and we are going to have to be at our best if we are to come out on top.
“They may have been relegated from Division One but if anything that will make them more focussed and more dangerous.’’
Monaghan themselves had to battle hard to avoid making the drop with Cavan, surviving with only two wins from their seven fixtures. One of those victories came against tomorrow’s opponents, while the other came in the opening round against All-Ireland champions Dublin.
“We had a few games in which we didn’t perform overly well and still could have got something out of them.
“There was a couple of very poor performances mixed into the middle of that as well so I suppose if the League taught us anything it taught us that we have a lot of work to do going into the Championship.
“It’s all systems go, just as it is with every team, everybody ultimately aims for the summer as that is where your year is centred on.”
Last year Monaghan bounced back from that shock defeat to Fermanagh to reach the inaugural ‘Super 8s’ and then progressed to the All-Ireland semi-final before coming up agonisingly short against Tyrone.
Having got a taste of it Malachy O’Rourke’s men will once again hope to be involved in the business end of the Championship come the end of the summer.
And while McManus admits the best way to go is as Ulster champions they aren’t looking beyond the challenge of Cavan.
“For any team in the Ulster Championship the best route to the ‘Super 8s’ is obviously to try and win it, that is the target for everybody who sets out,” he said.
“The ‘Super 8s’ is a long, long way away and its not something that we are thinking about.
“The only thing that is in our heads is Cavan this weekend.’’
