STEPHEN Ferguson knows what it takes to win a championship with Tattyreagh – but when he stepped back into the role early in the season, his main ambition was to ensure the club’s survival in Division Two.

Ferguson and Stephen McHugh won back-to-back championships with Tattyreagh in 2017 and 2018, a magnificent feat for any club, let alone one which had never won an adult championship in its history.

It would’ve been tempting to give it a miss when the Tatts came calling after a poor start to their Division Two campaign this year – Ferguson is also managing Donegal club Red Hugh’s – but the Brackaville man simply couldn’t say no and has helped engineer an improved run of results in the league.

“It’s obviously very busy at the moment, but I’d spent four and-a-half years with Tattyreagh and they were very good to me and Stevie McHugh. When they need your help you’re not going to let them down.

“I’d a couple of free nights so it suited me fine. A lot of people said ‘why would you go back and potentially ruin what you achieved in the past’, but the bottom line is that we’re trying to build something for the here and now, and that’s what matters for me.”

Tattyreagh are set to play last year’s beaten finalists Gortin in Saturday’s Intermediate Championship first-round clash, but it’s fair to say that the league has been the main priority this season.

“Everyone tries to play things down, but when I came back in, genuinely it was all about gaining a bit of momentum in the league. If anything happens for us in the championship it’ll be a bonus.

“Gortin’s going to be very difficult to beat, they’ve been in a number of semi-finals and finals in the last four or five years, whereas five or six of our lads are in their first year of senior football. Our main focus has been trying to keep the lads in Division Two.

That said, Tattyreagh certainly have plenty of pedigree and arguably gave eventual champions Edendork their toughest game in last year’s championship. Ferguson says hard work is the key component to any successful team.

“I went to the Edendork game, and I watched them in the final as well, and they were probably better than everyone else last year, but Tattyreagh acquitted themselves well.

“I think we’ll be doing very well to beat Gortin, but what this Tattyreagh team will do is that they’ll never give up and will work hard.

“ If you go out and do those things, you’ll always have a chance and that’s the great thing about Gaelic Football.”

Tattyreagh’s James Darcy tucks the chin in and attacks the Naomh Eoghan line. DR03