Belief is everything. If Fermanagh don’t truly believe they can topple Ulster and All-Ireland champions Tyrone on Saturday, they don’t stand a chance.
That’s according to former Fermanagh and Irish League star Shane McCabe, who feels the presence of his former teammate Ryan McCluskey in Kieran Donnelly’s management team will help in that regard.
McCluskey was a key member of the 2004 team who shocked Armagh in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals in Croke Park with Charlie Mulgrew’s men narrowly losing out to Mayo in the All-Ireland decider.
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McCabe linked up with the senior panel the following season and was a vital member of the squad who reached the 2008 Ulster final, only to be denied by Armagh after a replay. His soccer commitments with Glentoran meant he didn’t feature for Fermanagh in the subsequent Qualifier campaign.
It will be a massive ask for the Erne County to upset the odds this weekend (they are 9/1 to do so) and McCabe said the players must have trust in themselves and Kieran Donnelly’s management team.
“You have to have the belief and you have to believe in the process,” said McCabe.
“You have to sacrifice yourself as a player sometimes in those situations. You have to trust what the manager is telling you and trust the system and play to it.
“Fermanagh, back in 2004, were actually beaten by Tyrone in the Ulster Championship and regrouped through the back-door and surprised a lot of teams.
“Ultimately, the biggest surprise was when Armagh maybe took their eye off the ball and were put to the sword by Fermanagh in Croke Park.
“In 2008, we’d a great belief there with Malachy O’Rourke. At the same time, we’d a bit of luck too. We beat Monaghan in a great match in Brewster and then beat Derry in Omagh.
“The effort was phenomenal that year and we drew with Armagh in the Ulster Final. We should have won the first day, but they ran away with it in the replay.
He added: “The players have to believe in themselves and this current Fermanagh team is a young team. Sometimes younger players don’t think about it too much and play with a bit of freedom. They are in a no-pressure situation - all the pressure is on Tyrone.”
McCabe is now coaching Cavan outfit Mullahoran, but he has still managed to watch his native county a few times this season.
Donnelly’s tenure didn’t exactly get off to a great start with Fermanagh losing their opening Division Three game to Antrim in Brewster Park by nine points.
They recovered to draw with Wicklow before claiming back-to-back wins over Longford and Laois.
However, their promotion hopes were all but over following a controversial draw at Westmeath when a legitimate Sean Quigley point wasn’t awarded.
Still, McCabe says there is plenty to like about how the Ernemen have gone about their business in 2022 so far and he thinks they’ll only improve with former Fermanagh legend McCluskey involved.
“He (McCluskey) was involved with Fermanagh for the best part of 20 years and he has seen it and done it,” said McCabe.
“He played at the highest level for a long time in many different positions too.
“He’ll bring in all those attributes and he’ll have high standards, there’s no doubt about that.
"He’ll demand the best in all situations, whether it is preparation, nutrition, weights. . . he’ll have no problem making that apparent to the players as well.
“He is a great man to have involved and a lot of the players would look up to him and the players respect him. He would have played with several of them too, so he’ll have that connection.
“One thing about him - he hates coming second in anything!
“He’ll be very keen to drive the thing on and make improvements with Fermanagh.”
In order for Fermanagh to have a chance of defeating the Red Hands, most pundits seem to think that an ultra-defensive, low-scoring game is the home team’s best and perhaps only chance.
Fermanagh defeated Armagh 0-12 to 0-7 in Brewster Park in 2018, but McCabe thinks that Donnelly’s men must take the game to Tyrone and try and expose any chinks in their armour, especially with the experienced duo of Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly sidelined.
“I’d love to see Fermanagh really have a go at them - there’s nothing to lose,” added the Belcoo native.
“I don’t want to see a situation where they are set up too negatively, trying to contain Tyrone. Fermanagh have conceded a few goals in the League and, if Tyrone get a few goals, they could really run away with it. It is a fine balancing act.
“Do you go full throttle at Tyrone leaving yourself open and exposed? It will be interesting to see how Fermanagh set-up.
“As a Fermanagh man, I’d like to see Brewster Park hopping and the game still in the balance with 15 minutes to go.
“How they do that is another question and that’s something Ryan McCluskey and Kieran Donnelly will be working hard on.
“Sean Quigley has been in great form this year, but they need to have more scorers.
“If Fermanagh are relying on Sean Quigley to do all the scoring on Saturday, I think they’ll be struggling.
“Tyrone will have their work done on him, so they’ll need the likes of Ciaran Corrigan, Josh Largo Ellis and Ryan Jones to chip in with scores.”
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