When Dreadnots look back on the 2009 season, they may not have any silverware in the trophy cabinet but that statistic should not suggest that the year has been a failure for a club which looks to have a very bright future. By Eunan Whyte.

After reclaiming their place in the Senior grade after their Intermediate success at the end of 2008, the Clogherhead men set out to consolidate their place in senior football and will be very pleased to have achieved that aim.
They will also feel that with a little bit more luck going their way, they might even have sealed a place in the knock-out stages of the Senior Championship, and claimed a place in Division 1 of the league.
However, despite those minor disappointments, the club remains on course to establish itself as a force in the coming years with a group of talented young players that has the potential to make a big impression in Louth football.
The superbly organised club have been working very hard at underage level over the past number of years and the benefit of some dedicated and experienced local coaches has resulted in a crop of very talented players emerging.
At the start of the year Dreadnots turned to another very talented coach, former Louth manager, Paddy Clarke, to guide the team's fortunes this year and he is very enthusiastic about the future for the club.
"I came in at the beginning of the year and the team was very much on a high after winning the Intermediate Championship and qualifying for Senior football.
"Our first goal was to consolidate our place in the grade as we didn't want to go straight back down and have to do it all again. We managed to achieve that and I think we were unfortunate not to go a step further and make it through to the quarter-final.
"Secondly, we wanted to have a go in the league and try to get promotion to Division 1, which we just failed narrowly to do," explained Paddy.
Although there is a feeling that Dreadnots might have achieved more, Paddy insists that overall it was a successful season in terms of the young players and the team continuing their development.
"It is very encouraging for the club to see that the majority of the players are under 21 years and are still very much learning the game but the potential is certainly there to be successful in the future.
"We have the likes of Paddy McGuigan and Darren Malone who are in their mid 30s and then Derek and Kenneth Shevlin along with Danny Sutherland and Fergal McGuigan who are very experienced at this level. After that the players are mostly under 21 and it is really exciting time for the club but the challenge is to make sure that the young players come through."
Paddy Clarke is around football long enough to spot talented players and he feels that the benefit of good underage coaching is evident in Clogherhead with some excellent players waiting in the wings.
"We have the likes of Dermot Campbell and Anthony Lynch involved with the Louth U-16 Development Squad and already we have seen what they can do in a few challenge matches. There is also Peter Kirwan with Louth U-17 and he is another fine player.
"Meanwhile in the County Minor set-up there are four players including Cathal Lynch, Richard Kirwan, Cian McEvoy and Anthony Williams. Unfortunately Cian McEvoy was injured for a good part of the season but he has made great progress, while Anthony Williams is definitely the find of the season and very few people in the club will forget the brilliant display he put on in his debut away to Naomh Fionnbarra," explained Clarke.
When you add in the players who have been involved with the Louth U-21 squad and the contribution of Padraig Rath and Padraic Smith to the Senior team then it is easy to see why there is plenty to smile about in Clogherhead these days.
"The great thing about the players is that although they are all inexperienced, they are willing to learn and willing to train. The simple fact is that you can't buy experience and the only way to get it is to gain it and it is better for these players to do so at senior level.
"In about four years time the lads around the 21 mark will be in their mid 20s and the younger lads will have come through to establish themselves in the first team. The prospects really look good and it is up to everyone involved in the club to make the most of this opportunity because chances like this only come around very occasionally.
"I have to say that this is a very well structured and well organised club with a very hard-working committee and if they do get success, then they will certainly deserve it," added the manager.
While there is much to be optimistic about, Paddy did end the season with some regret that his team didn't take the opportunity to make more of an impact.
"When you look at the championship draw there is no doubt that it did give us a great opportunity. In terms of the big guns, we only had St Patrick's and the rest of the teams were more or less on the same level, so we did feel there was a chance to make the knock-out stages."
There was even more encouragement after a first round win over Sean O'Mahonys and although defeats followed against Dundalk Gaels and St Pat's, Clarke's side still had it all to play for against St Mary's in the next match. However, that game saw the Ardee men come out on top and that result represented the biggest disappointment of the season for the manager.
"We would have ended up in third place if we had beaten St Mary's and we were optimistic going into that game given that we had already beaten them in the league. However, I think I have to hold my hand up as a manager and say that I didn't expect Ardee to play with such intensity and as a result they deserved to win that game."
Following that disappointment, Dreadnots had one final outing where victory over Kilkerley confirmed their status in Senior football for 2010 and that was certainly something to celebrate.
The league form in Division 2 also gave the club plenty of encouragement but in the end they just failed to make it to the promotion play-off on score difference.
"Our league form was good although we were somewhat hampered by a string of injuries throughout the season that made it hard to field a consistent team. We drew with league winners, O'Connells, while the highlight was probably beating St Mary's away.
"We went into the last game of the season two points ahead of Clans who needed to beat us to go into second place on score difference and unfortunately we froze on the day and missed out on the chance, losing 4-4 to 1-11."
Nonetheless, Paddy is happy with the way the season went and is confident that if the players can continue to develop over the coming years, it won't be long before potential is transformed into a bulging trophy cabinet at Clogherhead. Tweet

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