Pete McGrath has voiced his opposition to the introduction of a second tier football championship.

Calls for an All-Ireland 'B' championship have grown louder in the wake of heavy championship defeats for Longford, Waterford and Carlow in recent weeks, but the Fermanagh boss believes such a move would be "defeatist".

He told the Irish Daily Star: "It would not serve Gaelic football well at all. It is defeatist, actually.

"To take the easy way out and talk about first, second or third tier championships is wrong. You are saying 'those counties are second-rate, let's put them together because they'll never been any better than they are'.

"You can't put a ceiling on what any county, or any player, can achieve."

The former two-time Down All-Ireland winning manager, who will attempt to lead Fermanagh to a rare Ulster final appearance at Monaghan's expense on Sunday, added: "Look at the (minor) All-Irelands won by Tipp and Roscommon, and the massive strides Clare have taken in recent years.

"That is solid work and there is no reason why the so-called minnows in Leinster, teams like Longford and Carlow, can't do better than they are. What is preventing them from getting people together to revolutionise football in those counties?

"There are enough good players in every county to improve things, there is no doubt about that.

"All it requires is a certain amount of planning by people with ambition and energy."

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