Glen Nulty was the captain of Cootehill Celtic senior football team in 2005. Here he painfully recalls the disappointment of a year marred by relegation It's months on but memories of his team's descent into the mire of relegation are almost too painful for Glen Nulty to conjure up as a new season in a new division beckons. Cootehill Celtic's Nulty continues to find it difficult to re-wind the tape even though it wasn't for want of his own efforts that the Celts dropped down from division two to three. Recollections of the club's relegation conjures up all sorts of depressing images for the 2005 club captain. Everything's still pretty fresh but the odour ain't nice. Understandably, looking back in time isn't something that a leader of men is likely to want to explore every day of the week. But he does so out of courtesy. A decisive defeat to west Cavan side Drumlane in December capped a annus horribilis for the Celts which saw them plunge into the depths of basement football in Cavan. Not that Glen believes for a moment that the past season for Cootehill was sacrificed on the altar of happenings at a grey, dank and dour Drumalee ground alone. "The year didn't just collapse for us at Terry Coyle Park - there was more to it than that," the popular publican opines. "Like a lot of other clubs, once we went out of the championship, the bottom fell out of the year and a lot of things started to fall apart, like attendances at training. "There was a lack of fitness in the squad towards the end of the year too and, overall, the commitment from the panel just wasn't good enough over the whole season." And yet, the galloping midfielder is optimistic that the outgoing crop of players - plus a few new, young recruits - can re-claim the club's place in division two of the ACFL. He believes the addition of some fresh blood will, in that latter regard, "freshen things up and increase competition for places on the team." Cootehill will be managed by Drumalee clubman Mickey Lee in the coming year and the outgoing captain welcomes his appointment in the club's bid to turn things around. But will the 'blooding' of some promising players from minor and under 21 levels be sufficient to re-float Cootehill's boat? "Time will tell," Glen declares, "but the fellas that will be promoted to the senior team won't lack for confidence or self-belief and hopefully they will take their chance. "It will be tough going in division three but I think we can bounce right back and be playing division two football in 2007," the Bridge Street resident adds. Glen feels it will be vitally important to get a "good run in the early stages of the league" so that confidence and ambition levels can be stirred to the utmost degree. Interestingly, the former 'keeper turned midfielder is inclined to finger automatic promotion in 2006 as the priority for the Celts although he's not absolutely certain. "It's hard to know what would be the best for the team this year because the championship is the big one but we need to get back playing in division two. "The only good thing about being relegated is that it might be easier to win the intermediate championship playing out of division three where different teams are involved. "The teams we'll be playing in the league won't all be the same ones that we'll be coming up against in the championship so it might work to our advantage." Glen is under no illusion about the sleeves-rolled-up policy that Cootehill will need to adopt if the club is to come good in either league or championship campaigns. The teams we'll be meeting in division three will probably be more physical but if we can match them in that department and find a killer instinct we should be there or thereabouts and in the shake-up at the end of the year." Glen hopes, as the new season gathers pace, that the Cootehill seniors will recover some of the spirit of the early part of 2005 that promised so much for the season. "Fellas were turning up to training in great numbers with an average of about 25 giving their full commitment and things looked up at that stage. "We even had a panel of thirty for the Ballinagh game in the championship and there was definite competition for places and a lot of interest in the team," says Glen. And? "Things didn't work out for us but we knew the Ballinagh game was probably going to be tough but we were hoping to get off to a good start to the group "It was probably our best display of the year but after going three or four points ahead we got lackadaisical and didn't score at all in the second half which was a disaster." Glen says the team's failure to consolidate their first half advantage had much more to do with a failure to find a killer punch(es) than a dearth in the team's fitness level. "We had the winning of the game but we must have kicked something like 12 or 13 wides in the second half plus a good goal chance which was crucial," he adds. The Ballinagh defeat was a "massive blow" the team-captain explains, turning Cootehill's next championship tie against Butlersbridge in Stradone into a real do-or-die affair. But the buzz which had been in the camp prior to the Ballinagh game was quickly dissipating but Cootehill were still fancied to repeat their earlier league victory. "There was nothing between us in the league and nothing either in the championship but we lacked scoring power and didn't put away our chances away," Glen recalls. And as mentioned, things just went steadily downhill for Nulty and co thereafter with defeats to Swanlinbar and Drumlane sealing the Celts' demotion to division three. Captain, for the second time, in 2005, the six-foot plus player has been playing senior football now for nine seasons but 2005 was arguably his most disappointing. Searching for reasons as to why the famed Hoops have descended so low, Glen feels that maybe not enough fellas are sticking the pace after leaving underage ranks. Glen is a product of the underage system which saw him emerge up through the ranks alongside fellow seniors Brian Sherlock, Christopher Sherlock and Shay Hawe. But, pointedly, he feels such a quota represents a poor return on the club's investment during his time at underage level. "You would need to be getting a lot more than just three or four fellas coming through every year from minor level but that's about all we've been getting over the years. "I suppose if we got a bit of success, more fellas would be tempted to hang in there and make a greater effort as regards training and coming home for matches." Just a few years ago, Glen's own football career took a sideways rather than downward slant but it didn't cause him the same angst as relegation did in 2005. For years he was the club's netminder before being relocated out the field where he invariably played in midfield or on the edge of the box. So which role does he prefer? "As captain, it's a wee bit easier to help motivate the lads when you're outfield but it doesn't matter to me where I play although I'd have more confidence in goal. "I wouldn't have a problem playing in any position once I got a game and the team was doing well," Glen explains. A few years ago, Glen was considered a good enough goalkeeper by the Cavan senior team management to warrant a trial when Eamon Coleman was the gaffer. Along with fellow clubmen Barry McGahan and David Reilly, he attended the one-day trial in Ballyhaise but, sadly, wasn't called into the squad. "I tried my best in the 40 minutes football that I played that day but there were three other 'keepers there and I suppose they impressed more than I did." Whatever about the competition he faces for a place on the county panel - in whatever position - he says the competition for trophies in Cavan is getting tougher. "It won't be easy to pick up a trophy in 2006 but I think we can get promotion and anything after that would be a bonus," he admits. Tweet

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