McCusker: Winning the Tailteann Cup would be massive for Fermanagh
For the third successive season, Fermanagh enter the Tailteann Cup as first seeds, but this time around the Erne County are looking to firmly challenge for silverware.
Few will be as motivated as long-serving Declan McCusker. The 34-year-old made his championship debut back in 2011 and continues to drive the team from the half-backline.
He was part of a Fermanagh side that reached an All-Ireland quarter-final in 2015 and an Ulster decider three years later, but things have been sparse since. A promotion to Division 2 was a significant achievement, but championship days in the sun have been few and far between.
A sobering defeat to Down in Ulster means their wait for a provincial win will stretch to eight years, and now the focus in the Tailteann Cup, starting with Sunday's home game against Carlow, with games against Longford (away) and Wexford (neutral) to follow.
Despite being among the first seeds, McCusker knows from recent history it hasn't counted for much, with preliminary quarter-final (2023) and quarter-final (2024) defeats to their name.
"We've always been a number one seed and sort of come in thinking we are good enough to win it and we've underperformed," he told RTÉ Sport.
"Look at some of the other teams, Laois and Antrim have performed really well in the Tailteann Cup and we haven't so that's something we need to try and get right this year."
Seven points up – one courtesy of McCusker himself – with eight minutes remaining against Down, the Erne men looked set to break their Ulster hoodoo but were simply unable to halt the shift in momentum at Brewster Park.
That loss was a particular blow – "I've had a few bad days but aye, it was brutal" – but he dismisses the notion that there may be a lack of motivation for the secondary football competition.
"I don't see the Tailteann as a slog," he says. "A Fermanagh win the Tailteann Cup would be a massive, massive achievement.
"We're a very small county and don't have big numbers, so to win any competition in the would be huge.
"For 90% of the counties that are in the competition, this is probably the level that they're at and the challenge for a Sam Maguire is a long way away for all the teams, maybe bar one or two.
"There's definitely teams in this competition who are good enough to be in the Sam Maguire competition, but to actually challenge to win it, yeah, it's a process maybe for a couple of teams, Kildare and Offaly maybe down the line."
"To go into a championship and have a competition that you can actually win, I think it's very important."
Key to their prospects is the fitness of key forward Ultan Kelm. He missed the entire league campaign with a hip problem and is continuing his road to recovery.
The form of Conor Love has been welcome. The all-action forward notched five points against Down in taking the player of the match award and McCusker says it is something that people within the county have been waiting to happen.
"He won a Hogan Cup (2019) and from then he would have been earmarked as the next big forward in Fermanagh and took a year or two out himself," he says.
"I think he was in for a year and then he took maybe a year or two out and then came back in last year and he was doing really well.
"You're kind of just waiting for him to have that kind of game, waiting for him to explode on the inter-county scene and he was brilliant against Down."
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