MICHAEL O’Rourke’s Derrylin head into Group B of the Intermediate Championship after a league campaign hampered by injuries.
The Cavan-native is in his first campaign as manager and knows the draw is tough, but he believes his squad has the quality to trouble anyone – if everything comes together on the day.
“If we perform, we can be a match for anyone in the group,” O’Rourke says.
“I suppose we would have worked a lot on structure during the league and trying to get a way of playing,” explains O’Rourke, who previously managed the Cavan ladies’ senior side.
“We were hampered an awful lot in the league by injuries – some of which have cleared up – but we were happy enough that by the end of the league we had implemented a system.
“The goal was to assess what we had and see what would work, and we’ve a good idea now how to use what we have, amid a big injury list really.”
Key absentees include Kian Prior, who looks set to miss the rest of the year, and Jake Smith is still struggling with injuries.
But Derrylin also boast quality across the field: Diarmuid Owens, Luke Flanagan, Josh Smith, Cathair Leonard and Conan Doyle among them.
“There’s a lot of quality in the squad when you go around individually,” O’Rourke says. “It’s just a matter of getting them all onto the pitch.”
Derrylin open their campaign away to Devenish at Devenish St Mary’s on Saturday, before hosting Division Two league winners Aghadrumsee on Sunday, September 7.
They finish the group stage against Tempo in Lisnaskea.
“It’s a challenging group,” O’Rourke admits. “When you look at it in relation to where we finished in the league, you’re looking at a group of teams that maybe all finished above and in better form.
“But seeing what I’ve seen and knowing the potential that we have, I do think that we can match anyone. There’s no game I’m thinking we can’t get a result out of.
“The other part of it is if we don’t click on the day, everyone can compete with us as well, so it’ll very much depend on the day.”
On defining success, O’Rourke is clear: “You’re building as the year goes along, but you can only really measure success at the end of the year on how far you get.
“If we can perform to our potential in every game, then that’s success to us.”