Peter Healy says Antrim are braced for a host of difficult challenges as they resume life in Division Three with a trip to Brewster Park to take on Fermanagh tonight (throw-in 7pm).
The Saffrons were relegated from the third tier on the last day of the League back in 2017 when Longford claimed a last-gasp draw in Corrigan Park.
For three seasons under Lenny Harbinson’s tenure, Antrim finished third in Division Four, narrowly missing out on promotion each time.
When Enda McGinley took over last term, Antrim finally gained promotion following a hat-trick of one-point wins in Division Four North before defeating Waterford by seven points in the play-off.
Fermanagh had designs on promotion themselves, but lost out to Offaly in their Division Three semi-final last season and Healy believes the they’ll provide the perfect test for Antrim this evening.
“I think it is a good game for both counties as we are looking to go in and make a statement and push on from last season,” said Healy.
“They’ll be the exact same and they’ll be looking to make a statement. Fermanagh have been competitive in Division Two and Division Three for a good while.
“That’s where we want to be so it is good to test ourselves out against a team who, I’d imagine, will be towards the top of the table at the end. If we can get a good performance down there and get a bit of momentum going, we’ll see how things go.
He added: “It (Division Three) seems quite open – everyone could beat everyone. I think it is different in Division Four. The top two or three teams are expected to beat everyone else. We were quite unlucky in a few years when we were third of the top three teams.
“You can’t afford to slip up, but Division Three can be different in everyone will expect to drop points. Even a few years ago when we last got relegated – we went down on five points.
“It is so competitive and there will be shock results. We are just hoping to be there or thereabouts.”
While the likes of Paddy Cunningham, Mark Sweeney and Niall McKeever have retired from county duty, Niall Delargy and Adam Loughran have also stepped away from the panel.
Experienced Lámh Dhearg defender Declan Lynch is also unavailable for the early part of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, as is club colleague Marc Jordan while Ballymena’s Conor Stewart has recently linked up with the squad after a spell on the sidelines.
McGinley used the McKenna Cup to bring in a host of new players with Jamie McCann (Creggan), Dominic McEnhill (Rossa), Jamie Gribbin and Pat Shivers (both Cargin) among those who made their senior debuts.
Additionally, Creggan’s Marty Johnston and Moneyglass defender Paddy McCormick have also returned to the fold and Healy says there is plenty of depth to the panel.
“Usually, the story in Antrim is about who is not committing, but this year we’ve almost everyone available,” said Healy.
“I think there are only maybe two or three lads in the county who, for their own personal reasons, aren’t playing this year.
“There has been a good buy-in and there is good new blood coming through, which is always great to see. I think those lads did very well in the McKenna Cup.
“The McKenna Cup can be quite open, but we’d a couple of good games. That will be forgotten very quickly if we don’t hit the ground running in the League. We’re now looking forward to the League and proving ourselves.
“The last time we were in Division Three, we went straight back down. We are building and trying to get up to the level of everyone else in Ulster. We need to solidify things in Division Three.”
