KEVIN CASSIDY: Whoever wins Ulster SFC Club Championship can go all the way

SCOTSTOWN and Kilcoo sent shockwaves through the rest of the country with their performances last weekend.

I think we can take it for granted that the rest of the country were always keeping one eye on Kilcoo but after last weekend’s display Scotstown are now well and firmly in the mix.

I’d like to start with Kilcoo and although I have spoken a lot about them on the past, it never ceases to amaze me how they keep coming back year after year.

Whatever formula they have, if you could bottle and sell it then I don’t think there would have to be another sheep sold in a Kilcoo again.

They set an amazing culture up there for the young lads coming through and that is so hard to do especially in this day and age.

This team know that they have a special group of players and they are determined to make every single season count and I think that is amazing.

Scotstown put Naomh Conaill to the sword last weekend and they showed how you should play this new game. They kicked ball when it was on and they ran it hard and direct when it wasn’t on.

The Glenties men couldn’t breathe and when you look at how they traditionally play their game then that was exactly what was needed.

Much like Kilcoo, they have a very special group of players at the minute and they are also keen to make the most of things. The Ulster Club title is the one they so badly want and perhaps this just might be the year.

Elsewhere in the competition, Newbridge are building momentum and they look like a team who could cause problems for a lot of teams.

They are fast and powerful and they also have a few very good forwards, so I have no doubt that they will now fancy their chances of reaching the decider.

In order to get there, they will have to get past the Monaghan champions who themselves have been going quite well of late so we have a couple of fantastic games to look forward to.

I will make my way to Healy Park into weeks’ time to cover that clash between these two teams. It’s a game I’m really looking forward to.

I saw Newbridge last year against Clann Éireann and I was impressed by them and I’m sure that experience will stand to them this time around.

I am also very excited about seeing this Scotstown team up close and personal. It should be a fantastic game and for me the prize on offer is massive.

I spoke last week about the possibility of the winner of Ulster going all the way and after last weekend I am even more convinced that this may be the case.

The teams of course cannot afford to look that far ahead as it has to be a game-by-game process, but I am sure that some of those teams are keeping an eye on what is happening elsewhere.

At this time of the year the rest of the clubs are looking on and wondering what if. The annual manager merry go round swings into full gear as teams up and down the land try to get “the right man” in.

My advice to those clubs is perhaps pair things back, simplify things again and perhaps maybe take a different approach.

Change doesn’t always mean success. Sometimes small tweaks are what is needed. So, over the next few weeks and months, tread carefully before jumping two footed into something that may very well lead you straight back here this time next year.