THERE is a fine balance between enjoying the build-up to an All-Ireland final and not getting swept up in the hype but as Fermanagh manager CJ McGourty told his players, opportunities to play in Croke Park on All-Ireland Finals Day do not come about too often and it is important to savour the moment.
Fermanagh take on Louth in Sunday’s All-Ireland Junior Final at Headquarters.
As an All-Ireland medal winner himself – he has won a senior football club title with St Gall’s in 2010, a Tommy Murphy title with Antrim in 2008, and a Nicky Rackard hurling title with Tyrone, his adopted county, in 2022 – as well as appearing in two other All-Ireland club finals (senior decider with St Gall’s footballers in 2006 and intermediate hurling final with St Gall’s in 2010), there is no better person to pass on that big game experience.
“It’s not every day you get to an All-Ireland final and you don’t know when you’ll be back. You want to enjoy that build-up but at the same time you want to have all avenues covered,” he said.
“You will look back on it and it will either be to say ‘could we’ve done one more’ or ‘we got it spot on’ because we want to enjoy the build-up and the day itself too.
“We have been telling the players to just relax and go to work, do whatever you have to do. It’s only a game of football.
“Yes, we care an awful lot about it. But if you’re losing sleep over or stressing on other aspects of your life because of it, then you’re not going to be in the best shape you can be to play.”
As his first inter-county management gig, it has been a memorable season for McGourty and his backroom team, to be one of the two junior teams remaining in the competition and putting in the final preparations for Sunday’s All-Ireland decider against Louth.
And whether or not it happened this year or next or the year after that, he knew that when taking on the job, Fermanagh had potential.
“I can remember watching them on TV and I knew the calibre of players they had through watching games and being involved in conversations.
“Things over the last couple of years haven’t gone the way they’ve wanted but I knew that they would be there or thereabouts. And I suppose my sort of thought process when I was sort of looking at the job was that you know, I’ve been in All-Ireland finals and got over the line so may be that could help with Fermanagh.
“I always said that that we’d be good enough to get to Croke Park. I firmly believe that, as long as nerves don’t get to us. Louth have a lot of athletic players as well, both at halfback, midfield and obviously the up front and they have a lot of a lot going for them. But we also believe that we’re athletic and fit and we believe we’re ready for it.”