It is a sign of the strength of the Newtown Blues club when every year begins with a great sense of expectation that the Newfoundwell men will be challenging for the major honours.

As one of the giants of Louth GAA the Blues are rarely ever too far from success and there is always a sense of disappointment if they end the season without at least one piece of silverware.
The main target as always is the Senior Championship and according to defender, Stephen Moonan, the 2010 campaign began with a familiar ambition as the club set their sights on winning back the Joe Ward Cup.
The Drogheda side won the trophy as recently as 2008 but lost it in disappointing fashion when they were beaten by Cooley Kickhams in the semi-final.
In the end they only made it to the last four again this year, and although disappointed, Stephen believes that with a big more luck things could have gone their way.
As a result he feels there was much in their season to suggest that they will start the 2011 confident that they have the ability to win the title once again but believes that it will be a big challenge given the quality of teams now competing at senior level.
"I suppose at the beginning of every season we start with the ambition of winning the Senior Championship and we are always there or thereabouts but unfortunately this year we didn't make it all the way despite the fact that we were running into form at the right time.
"It always seems to be the case that we struggle at the start of the year to get a rhythm going as we generally have lads involved in the Louth set-up or studying and then you might have a few injuries on top of that.
"However, by May or June we began to get our full team and we were beginning to turn in some impressive performances in the league. As a result we went into the championship fairly strong and by the time we got to the semi-final against Cooley, we were playing quite well.
"I think on form we would have gone into that game as favourites but you always know that Cooley are going to be a hard team to beat. There is generally never more than a kick of a ball between us so you always need that bit of luck to get over the line," he explained.
That bit of fortune certainly eluded the Drogheda men in the semi-final at Clan na Gael Park as at a crucial stage of the game, Moonan was denied a certain goal by a brilliant Neil Gallagher save which effectively turned the game. The peninsula side responded with a goal soon after and went on to claim a narrow victory.
"Despite the very wet conditions, it turned out to be a very good game. That really was a great save by Neil Gallagher and when it is so close, such incidents certainly make a huge difference."
For the Newtown Blues, the challenge is to bounce back next year and Moonan believes there is enough quality in the squad to do just that.
"I think we have a squad capable of winning the title and the team is reasonably strong at the moment. I don't think we are going to lose players next year and with one or two young lads coming through, we should be a bit stronger.
"There is always a pressure on the Blues to win the championship and we will be hoping to be in a position to challenge for the Joe Ward again," added Stephen who is aware that the competition will be tough once again.
"It is never easy to win the championship and you have to look at the teams who are going to be there. The champions, Mattock Rangers, are going to be there again looking for a three-in-a-row and they are very strong, while St Patricks will be very disappointed to lose in the semi-final for the last two years.
"Cooley have been in the last two finals and were unlucky to miss out this year so they will want to be back."
Although most people will be looking at the top four teams, Stephen believes the competition is getting stronger all the time and there are a number of teams now capable of making a big impression.
The performance of Naomh Malachi against the Blues in the group stages is an illustration of this, while Mattock Rangers were rather fortunate to come through their quarter-final against Kilkerley Emmets.
The Blues defender believes that one of the key factors in the success of this year's championship has been the new structures and despite not going all the way this season, Stephen admits that he is a big fan of the new setup.
The change in format to four groups of three teams has, according to Stephen, added a new impetus to the championship and made for greater enjoyment for the players and more entertainment for the fans.
"I think the new format has worked very well as it has made for more exciting games. You go into the competition knowing that you can't afford to lose.
"In previous years you knew you could afford to lose a game or two and still be able to qualify for the knock-out stages and I think that took the edge off many matches.
"If you look at our own group this year, we lost out to Mattock Rangers in a close match, but it was a good game as both teams wanted to win. That put a lot of pressure on us for our final game against Naomh Malachi and that was illustrated in our performance. We didn't play well and were fortunate to get a couple of late points that saw us through to the quarter-final," explained Stephen who believes that the new format will be a benefit to club football.
"I think already the senior grade is stronger than it was last year as you need every game to be competitive and that brings players and teams on. Last year a number of teams were able to get through the group stages without any great effort and it was very drawn out over a few months. I think players have enjoyed it more this year," he added.
Stephen is hoping that the new format will work in the Newtown Blues favour in 2011 and he believes if the commitment is right, his side have the ability to get back to winning ways when it comes to the championship. Tweet

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