Kingscourt Stars got back on track during 2004. With a new, visionary, pragmatic management team in place, the Blue & Whites contested the business end of the senior championship and finished fourth in Division One - not a bad return from a young side that had been involved in a relegation play-off only twelve months previously! Former key player Barry McArdle is at the helm again in '05, when a similar rate of progress is both likely and probable. When Kingscourt claimed the SFC for the fourth time in five years in 1993, the famous town club was riding the crest of a wave. Things had never been better for the Stars. Eight SFCs inside 14 years is an exceptional haul by any standards and Kingscourt were undisputed lords of all they surveyed in the Breffni County. But those days are gone. There's a new team in place now and they're building virtually from scratch, albeit under the watchful eye of a man who has eight SFC medals in his back pocket! It's an interesting link to Kingscourt's glorious past. The county's most easterly club has failed to rediscover those highs of the 'eighties and 'nineties, however, and it's now been more than a decade since they ruled the roost. In 2003, things reached a frightening low when the former kingpins found themselves on the verge of demotion to intermediate grade. But they came through the play-off unscathed and went from strength to strength last year under the new management team of Barry McArdle, Pat Tinnelly, Peter Rooney and Sean Caffrey, contesting the latter stages of the championship and finishing a respectable fourth in the all-county league. It's a dramatic and welcome reversal of fortunes and the Stars are tipped to continue moving in the right direction during 2005. Former star player Barry McArdle took over the team at the start of 2004. He quickly settled on his backroom staff and the quartet knuckled down to the task at hand. "We were starting from a low ebb as the club had been involved in a relegation battle the previous year," Barry concedes. "Bearing that in mind, to reach the quarter-final stage of the championship and finish fourth in the league was a success. We were happy enough with that, even though we'd like to have done even better." It was refreshing to see Kingscourt back in contention. Hopefully, 2004 will prove a platform upon which to build - a means to an end. A turning point, perhaps. The manager notes: "From some people's point of view, it was a successful year. But from my own point of view it wasn't because we didn't win any silverware and I'm a greedy so-and-so. But the committee were happy enough with the level of improvement and we're hoping to take it further this year with the same approach and the same attitude. We'll set our targets again, we'll prepare and hopefully we'll get there. "It's always difficult because clubs lose players every year and lads head off to Australia or whatever and you never really know who's going to be available. We're no different to any other club in that respect, but we'll get our lads together and we'll give it our best shot with the players we have at our disposal." In an ideal world, Barry would love to have got his hands on a famous league/championship double in 2004. It didn't work out that way, though, as Cavan Gaels again swept all before them, but the Kingscourt manager was nonetheless extremely happy with the response of the players: "I was absolutely delighted with the response I got from the players. They gave 100% in training and I couldn't have asked for any more. "With a lot of clubs, training is a pain in the ass, especially when there are players coming home from Dublin, who have to get into their cars, make the long trek down the road and then run around in the muck and wet and cold while some lunatic roars and shouts at them. But our training is NEVER like that! "We held our first training session this year on February 4 and we had 28 lads down at the pitch, which was a very good turn-out. We try to make it as interesting as possible. Training should be enjoyable and players should look forward to it. It shouldn't be a slog. We vary it and keep the players interested. It worked out last year and played a big part in building morale, so we're hoping for the same result in 2005. "I believe the players were fitter than ever last year and they really enjoyed getting fit, which is how it should be." Barry also decided not to segregate the junior team from the seniors, yet another policy which reaped benefits for the Stars. There was a great bond between all the players and the junior Bs had a superb year. They reached the semi-final of the championship and the league final, putting together an unbeaten run that stretched into August. Barry says: "When I played, you always had the junior Bs and the seniors separated by the time the championship started, but I decided I didn't want to do that. We kept them all together and they appreciated it. We were like one big happy family and all the players responded. We went out of our way to make sure the players were looked after and that they didn't want for anything. They all got tracksuits and stuff like that. "Everything was done properly. I played the game for long enough myself to know how important it is to treat players well. Preparations and arrangements were handled properly and they all knew exactly what was going on - and where and when. "For the start of the current year, we decided to train one night a week for the first five weeks until the Ulster league was over. We'll raise it after that. I won't go out with a big stick and batter them. It's better to trust them to put in a bit of effort themselves." What's a realistic target for Kingscourt Stars in 2005? "It's always going to depend on the draw you get, but with the right draw we'd be happy to get to a senior semi-final. It's going to be difficult because we've lost five players from our senior panel from last year, but we're determined not to let the thing lapse or go backwards again. Darragh Gunne and Alan Clarke were with the county minors last year and they also played with our senior team and did really well. A lot of the lads could be even stronger this year, so we'll aim for a top five place in the league and a championship semi-final, and take it from there." In the 2004 SFC, Kingscourt lost their opening two games to Knockbride and Bailieboro but recovered with group wins against Crosserlough and Ballymachugh. A narrow defeat to Cavan Gaels meant they had to face Belturbet in a play-off for a quarter-final spot. Belturbet were seen off on a scoreline of 0-16 to 1-8 but Gowna proved a bridge too far in the last eight (2-11 to 1-9). Barry notes: "I thought the performance against Cavan Gaels was excellent and we hit 16 points from play against Belturbet at Breffni Park. We were then brought down to Killygarry to play Gowna on a wet pitch where the grass had been cut but hadn't been gathered. We have a young, light team and they need a big wide pitch and a dry ball. On the evening of the quarter-final we didn't get either. That's not making excuses - it's a fact. We hadn't really been conceding goals all year, but we gave away two in the first half and couldn't get back into it." It's been twelve years now since Kingscourt won a county senior championship. The current manager, who is one of five players who claimed eight SFC souvenirs between 1980 and '93, says the twelve-year gap is not a factor. "It doesn't apply to this team, so we won't be placing any emphasis on it. These are two completely different teams. Very few of our current players have a senior medal, so there's no point looking back on those teams. The fact remains that the present team hasn't won anything yet. We're building a new team from a low base and hopefully we'll give a decent account of ourselves again this year." Tweet

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