McCann not taking Harps for granted

BARRY McCann said it’s a great honour to line out alongside his three brothers Jack, Ben and Dan in Saturday’s county final as Erne Gaels bid to make more history.
The 32-year-old energy consultant has been a regular in the Belleek starting team for many years now and his desire to win and lead his hometown club to victory remains as strong as ever.
“It’s where you want to be every year. It’s good getting to the final, but you want to win it and that’s the number one goal,” said McCann.
“It’s a good boost for the club and everyone around the town, there’s a good excitement.”
McCann is a hugely versatile player. He’s spent the majority of this season in the full forward line, but he’s previously spent spells right across the pitch, including as goalkeeper.
His brothers Jack and Dan have also established themselves as regular starters in the Erne Gaels squad, while Ben has also made some appearances off the bench.
Seeing the four brothers pull on the Belleek colours in Brewster Park on Saturday night will certainly be a proud one for the McCann family.
“It makes it extra special lining out with them. It’s great to line out with good friends and family and it makes it that bit more special,” he said.
McCann, a placed ball specialist, was impressive in Erne Gaels’ semi-final win over Ederney, when they overturned a six-point deficit late in the game in Brewster Park.
The pacy forward recognises that Erne Gaels will need to put in an improved performance this weekend.
“We scraped through a few games. We feel we’re only playing well in spells, but we’ve done good to get through some of the games,” explained McCann.
“Last week, we were nowhere near our best and we just kept chipping away at the points and going to the end to get over the line.”
The Belleek forward said the Erne Gaels squad “know what Derrygonnelly brings” to the game and they’re expecting a tough challenge from the 10-time New York Cup winners.
“We know what Derrygonnelly brings. They are a well drilled team and they have been the team to beat in Fermanagh for the past 10 years,” said the 32-year-old.
“They have plenty of good footballers, strong and fast, and if we identify a few of their key players, we’ll have to try and keep them quiet.
“We also know what we can produce ourselves, so we’ll be focusing on ourselves and our game plan and trying to put the game to Derrygonnelly.”
McCann, who is hoping to win his second Fermanagh Senior Football Championship title, feels there’s enough experience in the Belleek squad to get over the line in Brewster Park.
“We have good experience and there are a good few young boys to keep the thing ticking on,” McCann added.
“Declan [Bonner] and Paul [Brennan] have been a massive boost too. They give everything and they know what’s needed to win and they’ve been pushing the standards high.”