By Niall Gartland

NEW Fermanagh joint-manager Daithi Hand is realistic in his appraisal of their Division Three opener against Donegal this Saturday, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have high expectations for the coming years.

Hand and Peter Galvin both worked under Joe Baldwin, who parted ways at the end of last season’s campaign after six years in charge.

Now they’ve assumed the executive roles and they have plenty of pedigree: they led Sligo to back-to-back Lory Meagher and Nickey Rackard titles in 2018 and 2019 and were part of the Fermanagh set up that landed Lory Meagher honours two years ago.

It’s a marathon not a sprint though, and Hand, a native of Monaghan, recognises that it will take something special to plot the downfall of Donegal at O’Donnell Park in their first official game in charge this weekend.

“There seems to be really strong structures in Donegal in terms of the club scene and that’s obviously fed into the work that Mickey (McCann) has been doing for quite a number of years.

“They’re a well-established outfit, we played them in a challenge game a few weeks ago and they’re just a bit further down the line in terms of their conditioning.

“That’s part and parcel of Donegal being a Christy Ring team, so it’s going to be a massive, massive challenge and we’re up against it.”

Fermanagh will participate in the Nickey Rackard Cup for a second successive season later in the year but Hand sees no reason why in the long run they can’t rise even further up the ranks.

“If you look at Lisbellaw’s run in the Intermediate Championship in Ulster, and Belleek starting to get a bit of exposure in the Ulster Junior Championship, you want our lads to be playing at the highest level possible at county level.

“If we’re being honest about it, we’ve been a bit of a yo-yo team being Lory Meagher and Nickey Rackard, and our remit is to ensure that we become an established Nickey Rackard team and then hopefully push on to the next level.”

Fermanagh have been able to call upon a band of seasoned campaigners whose commitment has been without question for many years. Hand has one eye on the future though and is in the process of integrating u-20 hurlers into his panel.

“We’re trying to mix it up. We do have an established squad but a few lads have retired in recent times like John Duffy and so we’re trying to supplement the squad and bring a bit of fresh blood into it.

“There are eight or nine u-20s in the squad this year which is brilliant. So we’re trying to build on the good work that was done by Cyril (Dunne) and the boys in the Celtic Challenge two years ago and bring those boys through. It’s been a joint operation in that respect with the u-20s but there’s a pathway programme for lads who are probably in their first year of senior hurling, and we’re hoping that in two or three years’ time they’ll be fit for the heat of battle at the senior ranks.”