Steven McGinnity is one of the old guard at Drumhowan but he's more than happy to oversee the dawn of a possible 'new era' at the club after a disappointing 2004. Words: Kevin Carney Steven McGinnity is one of the few current players in Monaghan football circles who needs no introduction. He starred for Monaghan seniors for nine years but it's been his consistently positive and potent contribution to the county's club scene which has arguably won him most respect and admiration. McGinnity is one of those few players who, when he hangs up his boots, will go with the soubriquet of being 'a good club player as well as being a good countyman.' So when the now 34-year old attacker talks of his immense disappointment in seeing his beloved Drumhowan crash through to the trap door back down into junior ranks for the first time 14 years, it's quite clear that he is genuinely hurting. "It goes without saying that getting relegated wasn't on our agenda at the start of 2004 and it was a big blow to go down. "Considering the fact that we came second in the league the year before meant it was even harder to get our head around the relegation thing. "We thought getting up to senior was a realistic target and instead of that we're now facing into a year playing junior football," the former county ace lamented. It's easy to understand just how much our man McGinnity has been flummoxed by his club's demotion. Given that he can scarcely recall any of his time playing at junior level is evidence enough of the type of culture shock that lies in waiting. And yet there's not a hint of recrimination or self-pity. He does, however, suggest that Dame Fortune didn't exactly take a shine to the Drumhowan lads. "In 2002 we got the rub of the green but there was little sign of it in 2004. "We lost a lot of matches by just a point or two whereas if those results had went for us, we'd have been chasing a top four spot. "But those were games were should have made sure of winning. "We lost to Donaghmoyne by three points in the middle of the year which was an important one because I think we'd have gone on a bit of a run had we won that one. "A win then would have seen us build up a bit of a momentum. "Eire Og in June was another game where we led by something like eleven points at half-time but ended up losing. "There were other similar matches, like against Clones," says Steven who refuses to fault outgoing team-trainer Eddie Kelly or any of his backroom team for the way things panned out at year's end. In fairness to everyone in the vanguard of the club, there were some extenuating circumstances which conspired to help trip up Drumhowan over the course of the past season. Having to go through a season without players of the calibre of Martin and Gareth McElearney, Mark Daly and Brendan Quinn was always going to be very tough. While the quality of their replacements couldn't be questioned, the degree of experience boasted them could. "Overall the team lacked a bit of experience. We had a lot of young fellas playing in 2004 with at least three minors and a couple of nineteen year olds playing. "In some of the matches, we just weren't physically strong enough for the opposition. "We need a bit more experience, as a team, and to be a bit tougher too. "Most of the teams we were playing against had a lot of players with experience of senior football. "I'd say four of the top six teams at intermediate level in 2004 were involved at senior level over the last three or four years," adds Steven, a McKenna Cup winner, whose last appearance for Monaghan seniors was against Fermanagh in the 1999 Ulster SFC. In hindsight, Steven is inclined to believe that Drumhowan perhaps over-achieved in making it to the league semi-final a couple of years ago. But it's such an evenly contested grade at intermediate level, he reckons that there's a very thin line between failure and success. "It's as easy to find yourself in the top four as the bottom four depending on a few results." Didn't see the drop coming then? "I suppose with about seven games to go, it wasn't looking good; there was a touch of inevitability about the way were going to turn out. "Things hadn't gone well for us from the time we lost out to Emyvale in a replay in the championship." The fact that county panelist James McElroy suffered a broken hand and was out for practically most of the season could be put down as another mitigating factor in Drumhowan's tale of woe in 2004. Significantly, McGinnity is more inclined to look ahead rather than tear through the hubris of a year really best forgotten. Steven admits that's its very difficult to find any silver lining on the grey cloud which enveloped his beloved club. Instead, he prefers to join in with the rest of the gaels at the coalface in Drumhowan in heralding the dawn of a "new era." "A lot of the fellas that were playing in '88 at minor level for the club were still playing for the club seniors in 2002. "Maybe it's about time there was a changing of the guard," opines the one-time Dundalk IT student who, along with Donal McAdam, represents the old guard on the Drumhowan intermediate side. One of those players who helped the club clinch the minor championship title in 1988 (in tandem with fellow parishioners Ballybay), Steven confesses that it's getting no easier to keep with the pace of modern-day football, even at club level. The pace of everything connected to Gaelic football at grass roots level has "changed a lot over even the last two years." Outgoing manager of the Drumhowan under 16 team, the Lough Egish-based Accountant who credits Jimmy Bogle with launching his underage career at Drumhowan says he understands why some of his fellow clubmen may have high expectations of the club, year in, year out. But things have to be kept in perspective, he cautions, in terms of assessing the resources available to the club. For instance, he explains that in 2004, five of his under 16 players were under 14. What's his view of amalgamations? "I've no problem with them. I won a minor medal playing with fellas from Ballybay and amalgamations at underage level might be of benefit to us and them (Ballybay). "But I think, looking at the bigger picture, the whole issue of underage coaching needs to be looked at. "I'm not convinced with the experiment of having eleven aside competitions. "A strong player on an underage team can use the extra room and space to dominate matches even more so. "In general I'd go along with the efforts of the county board to encourage amalgamations, even at senior level as long as they can be fitted into the season. "Maybe that room could be created by doing away with the home and away league system and having single fixtures instead," opines Steven who figured years ago on the Rockcorry/Eire Og/Drumhowan amalgam that lost out to, ironically, a Mark Daly-inspired Castleblayney Faughs crew. As for the state of play at his own club as the start of the new season careers forward, the former New York Championship medallist (with Cavan in 1990) is optimistic that they can bounce straight back into intermediate ranks come next Autumn. He believes the cream of the crop who captured the Under 21 Division Two Championship title in 2003 can help bring silverware to the club. Of course he understands that the likes of himself, Dermot McDermott, Mark Daly and James McElroy will have to show the necessary leadership and inspiration to their younger, less experienced colleagues. "Those fellas who won county under 21 medals a couple of years ago weren't be lacking a winning mentality or the confidence when we start the new season. "It'll be a tough christening at junior level for them but they''ll do well as long as they put in the work." The next 10 months or thereabouts promises to make for interesting viewing down Drumhowan way. Tweet

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