Even though he was ensconced abroad for over 30 years, Drumgoon stalwart Raymond McCormack always retained a deep gra for his native club Around the start of the 'eighties, Drumgoon pursued a vigorous policy of developing underage football talent in the club. At the same time, Drumgoon native and current club vice-Chairman Raymond McCormack kick-started the formation of a juvenile section at his adopted GAA club in London. A quarter-of-a-century later, the Eire Og crew and McCormack are still doing their damndest to foster a passion and an appreciation for Gaelic football among the youth. Raymond was at the coalface of football affairs at the St. Joseph's GAA club in Hanwell, London from the early 'eighties 'till he came home to Ireland nearly seven years ago. He passed on a love of the Gaelic game to his sons Stephen, Raymond and Frankie and all three made their mark on the football scene while ensconced across the water. Thankfully all the family are back living on the 'oul sod and the GAA in the parish of Drumgoon is all the better for it. For Raymond snr, it's a case of to the manor born. After 32 years working in London, Raymond returned to put his shoulder to the wheel for the cause for Drumgoon GAA. It was a marriage made in Heaven. Always forthright in his views, the dye-hard clubman reflects on Drumgoon's year in 2008 with a naturally heavy heart and, as ever, calls it as he sees it: "We had a very good trainer in Eddie Kelly and he got on well with the players but unfortunately we peaked too early in the year and had a bad finish to the season," Raymond opines. "Things went very well in the early part of the year but the lads seemed to be stale after the break in the championship and the end of the league campaign. "It was the same in 2007. The team's best form came too early in the year. Maybe the new structure for the championship will help turn things around this year. I'd hope so anyway." Raymond maintains that beating neighbours Cootehill Celtic in the opening round of the championship turned out to be a double-edged sword as regards the bigger picture. Having overcome what was always going to be a difficult first round hurdle, the team looked set to kick on and justify their rating as one of the favourites to land the big prize. It wasn't to be however. Drumgoon's season nosedived. It seemed as if the intermediate side had shot their bolt well before the business end of the competition had been reached. "We beat Cootehill and then had a five week break which was our undoing," Raymond says. Whereas the likes of Cootehill played away through the backdoor we had no matches. "Other teams were getting fitter and fitter with each match they played but our match fitness was going down and by the time we got going again, we weren't the same team at all. "The break in the championship didn't help us at all but there's no doubt either though that the players didn't play to their potential over the course of the championship or the league. "I think the players know themselves that they let themselves down. Unfortunately the same mistakes that were made in 2007 were made again last year and we paid the penalty." Drumgoon disappointed in following up their win over Cootehill by losing out to Drumlane, a team that Raymond personally didn't fancy at all in terms of making an impact in '08. He acknowledges the theory that Drumgoon's finest may have went into battle against the west Cavan team in a somewhat complacent, if not over-confident, mode. However the avid gael doesn't have any truck with the view that perhaps Drumgoon has lost some of its old hunger and ambition and that maybe some of the players lack the desire "There was very little spirit in the team that day against Drumlane and it was a big shock, the biggest of the year for us. I felt some of our more high-profile players didn't perform. "But I wouldn't agree that the players feel they've won enough with a junior and intermediate championship medal already in their back pockets. "What player wouldn't want to win another intermediate championship medal or go up to division one. Everyone in Drumgoon wants to be back up at senior. That's the objective." Raymond is heartened though by what he sees being done at underage level in the club. In that regard, he is excited about the talent that is about to come through from minor level. He anticipates that the best of the young crop could help see the intermediate side come to full fruition in 2010. For the coming year, he maintains expectations won't quite be so high. The club's premier team, Raymond believes, may be about to go into a bit of a transition period but, nevertheless, he genuinely believes that silverware can be claimed this season. "We have a new manager this year in Barry McLoughlin and he'll be setting out to win every game in the league early on and build up the team's confidence for what lies ahead. "The same players that were there in 2008 will still be around this year and winning the intermediate championship and getting promoted in the league are definitely realistic goals. "I felt we should have won both the championship and the league last year. We were good enough. And I think we'll have the best squad at intermediate level this year too." The former county MFC medallist (with Cootehill Celtic in 1959) is looking forward to the unrolling of the upcoming season with a whole raft of local derby matches in the pipeline. It'll all make for some very interesting head-to-head clashes and "good gates", Raymond enthuses. He says the derby duels will make winning silverware all the more difficult in 2009. "It won't be easy this year but if the players give another 10% on top of what they gave in 2008, I think we'll be successful this year and the new championship structure will help." The drama that unfolded in the championship was almost matched by Drumgoon's fall from grace in the dregs of the league season when they allowed promotion to evade them. For the second year in a row, Drumgoon failed to show the necessary consistency to force their way into division one having been so well positioned at the peleton for so long. Like 2007, fellow parishioners Cootehill proved to be Drumgoon's nemesis in the league. One wonders what's Raymond's perception of why the wheels came off the wagon. "It's very difficult to put your finger on what went wrong in either the championship or the league. The team was well prepared but you have those sort of days in football. "I think Drumlane knocked the stuffing out of the team and they never really recovered from that loss. There was a long lapse before the league games against Redhills and Cootehill. "Versus a Cootehill team that had nothing to play for, we just weren't up for it enough. There was more fight in Cootehill and they played exceptionally well and were the fitter team." So what positives can the former Cavan U21 triallist extract from the season? "Well we know how close we were in the championship and league to achieving what we want to achieve. There was nothing between the teams last year and 2009 will be the same. "We're expecting good things from Barry McLaughlin (new manager) but, at the end of the day, it's up to the players once they cross that white line. "This year could see us at our best for quite a while. Everything about the club is healthy and top notch so we just need a bit of silverware to make everything rosy. "Like the last couple of years, we know the stuff is there and if the players can see out the year in the same way that they tend to start the year, then we should win a cup or two." Watch this space! Tweet

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