Paul Coyle is confident that Fermanagh are as good as anything in Ulster And the Devenish attacker has the facts to prove his point Many and varied are the theories as to why no Ulster county since Derry in the seventies has managed to retain the Anglo Celt Cup. Fermanagh's Paul Coyle, set to be in his county's line up for Sunday's clash with Armagh at Irvinstown, throws yet another reason into the pot. "Between Down in 1968 and Down again in 1991, only two Ulster sides, Armagh and Tyrone, had ever got beyond the All-Ireland semi final stage, as a result of that most of them put far more importance on winning the provincial championship than on going further, that is why it was so hard for a team to retain the Ulster title." Self belief had a lot to do with Ulster teams falling at the penultimate hold in the 23 year span mentioned by Coyle and the Devenish clubman says that self belief is one commodity that will not be missing from Fermanagh's make up against Armagh. "Last year we led Donegal by a point 0-7 to 0-6 at half time and then everything went haywire. Just before the break our full back Michael O'Brien was sent off and during the interval we lost two more players with injuries. The second half was a disaster and we ended up losing by 2-17 to 0-7, though even that scoreline gives a false impression as Donegal only scored 2-7 inside the last ten minutes. They have subsequently turned out to be the best side in the country by some way, so all things being equal we would have been close enough to them, so why aren't we entitled to believe we can beat Armagh." Coyle doesn't just play football, he studies it's form as well. "I had a lot of time to watch Fermanagh playing in the league before Christmas. I was out after I injured my elbow in an awkward fall during a club match, and at times we played some splendid football. Then after the break we fell away a bit. Armagh still only beat us by two points, and that was in Lurgan as well. In fact, if you look at their form in the league, it was almost the exact opposite of ours, poor before Christmas and impressive enough afterwards." So if it is going to be tight, what about home advantage being important. Coyle believes it will certainly give Fermanagh an edge but that's about all it will give them. "I suppose the fact that it is in Irvinstown will help, but when you play a team of Armagh's potential, it won't be easy no matter where it is played, the trouble as I see it with them is that you never know whether they'll be brilliant or bad." A little bit like the Lakesiders themselves perhaps, as after all on the back of the good league run they enjoyed, they managed to put in a woeful performance against Antrim in the semi final of the B championship, a fact Coyle acknowledges. "That day it seemed as if we collectively decided to play bad, the forwards missed easy chances, while the defence gave away some very silly scores, take it from me, it was a once off." And if a further vote of confidence in Fermanagh's chances of making an historic breakthrough in Ulster is needed, then Paul Coyle supplies it himself. The Devenish man is scheduled to walk down the aisle with fiancee Sally Mooney, from Swatragh in Derry this year, but rather than opt for a traditional summer date, the Guinness sales rep has gone for one in October. So does he realistically expect big things from his county this season. "I feel we can make the semi final at least. The Armagh match is just a preliminary round, the winners face Tyrone in the quarter final, with Donegal waiting at the next fence. We are as good as either of the first two in that equation anyway." And before you have time to say John Maughan, never mind Jack Robinson, Coyle cites Clare as the shining example to counties like Fermanagh. "As far back as 1985 we beat Clare, and since that we have beaten them in the league as often as they would have beaten us. The showed last year exactly what a well organised, fit side can achieve, you have to view them as a role model. I mean, if it was them last year, why not us this time around." Within Fermanagh there are perhaps four clubs with realistic ambitions of winning a senior club championship, Coyle's Devenish certainly being one of them as he already holds three such medals, and Paul argues that up until maybe three seasons ago, players and indeed clubs would perhaps have paid more attention to the domestic squabbles than to the inter county scene. "That has all changed now though, because Fermanagh players and supporters can actually see beyond the first round of the Ulster. We have got over that hurdle for the last two seasons and certainly the effort and dedication on the county panel has improved enormously in that time." Dedication, Coyle claims, is not lacking and neither will fitness be a problem if one takes into account the credentials of the man currently looking after the Fermanagh side's physical well being. "Hugh McCabe, Benny Burns and Mannix McGee are the three men in command at the moment. Benny does all the physical stuff and in my mind there is none better anywhere, after all he got his brother Declan into superb condition for the World Superstars a few years ago. He has had us operating to a set schedule since last October and it is all geared towards being ready for Sunday." Of course, for every single inter county player the journey to Croke Park begins at club level and for what it is worth, Coyle pays tribute to one man who he feels has helped make him the player he is today. "There are six Devenish players on the panel at the moment and not one of us would have got there without the work put in by Jim Carty at club level. I certainly own him an awful lot." And just in case anyone over Armagh way has any doubts about the readiness of Fermanagh for the fray, Coyle reveals that they have been shaping up quite well in recent challenges. "We have had two games lately and won both. We beat Monaghan and Leitrim," yes, the same Leitrim side who would be given every chance of taking the Nestor Cup in Connacht. One thing is certain, Fermanagh this year will be no pushover. "It is not a situation where we fancy ourselves strongly to win Ulster or anything like that. I doubt even Donegal would think in those terms, rather that we see ourselves as being as god as what is in it, like I said earlier, our self belief is strong. We have some exceptionally good young players coming through at the minute." A point best illustrated by the fact that on the day Cavan knocked Fermanagh out of this season's McKenna Cup, the wearers of the green and white tops were short, no less than seven players, all of whom were playing in the Sigerson Cup final between Queens and St. Marys. Obviously well educated men off the field, Paul Coyle believes that his county's footballing education will continue after next Sunday's championship clash. "It should be a typical championship match, tight and hard hitting. There won't be much in it at the finish but so long as we are ahead, I don't care. We just have to win it, that's all that matters." Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 14th May 1993 Tweet

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