Cavan's 2001 Footballer of the Year Anthony Forde speaks to Gerry Robinson about the Breffni County's re-emergence as a force to be reckoned with in Ulster and outlines his hopes and aspirations for the coming season. Two-thousand-and-one was an excellent year for Anthony Forde from a personal perspective. The Shannon Gaels clubman was outstanding for his county, earning himself the accolade of Cavan Footballer of the Year as well as many admirers nationwide. Personal praise is all fine and well, however, but the Cavan centre back points out that football is a team game first and foremost and that ultimately it all counts for nothing unless the team is winning. "Things went okay from a personal point of view", he muses, "but from the collective viewpoint we came out of it with no silverware to show and no medals in our pockets, so that's what 2001 will be remembered for. "The recognition is always nice but at the end of the day you play football to win trophies . . . and we didn't win any, which was disappointing. We came close, but not close enough. When you're part of a team, it doesn't matter who scores or who saves penalties or misses chances - it's all about winning or losing. We fell just a little bit short in the Ulster final, but the signs are encouraging for the future. That's the most positive thing we can take from the year." Cavan answered their critics with some fine performances in the Ulster championship. Nobody gave them a chance of achieving anything at the start of the year, but they made many doomsayers eat humble pie by progressing to the provincial final, wherein they came agonisingly close to toppling a highly rated Tyrone side. Progress? "Yes - it was certainly much better than anything that went in the previous two seasons. Even though we were on what was perceived to be the 'weaker' side of the draw, nobody gave us a chance of getting to the Ulster final. Everyone fancied Donegal or Fermanagh, or even Down, so we were happy to come through and get to the final against all expectations. "The first game against Down was always going to be a tricky assignment and so it proved. In the end, we probably should have won by more than a point, but in the championship a one-point win is every bit as good as a 22-point one. Monaghan were next up and anything can happen in a local derby match, but thankfully we came out on top." The Cavan-Monaghan game provided TV viewers with precious little moments of note and was severely criticised in the media for days, nay weeks, to follow. If one were to listen to all this 'anti-hype', they'd have expected Tyrone to run away with the Ulster final. How did Anthony Forde feel about the scathing criticism? "It acted as a spur to the team. A lot of the criticism was justified, to be fair - but a lot of it wasn't. The national media had been having a go at Ulster football all year anyway, so we knew to take it with a pinch of salt. We went into the final as underdogs and that suited us fine. "We went in with the intention of causing a surprise and proving everyone wrong and we came close to achieving that. But not close enough. To put in such an effort and come so close and lose by two points was a major disappointment." Cavan went into the Qualifier but - hardly surprisingly after such a setback - things assumed the shape of a pear against Derry. "It was hard to lift ourselves for the Derry game," Anthony reflects. "The game was played only two weeks after the Ulster final and we couldn't get ourselves focused again. We didn't do ourselves justice. With the benefit of hindsight, there were some club fixtures played in between those two games and perhaps that wasn't such a good idea. "But the fact remains that we didn't do ourselves justice against Derry and we should have done better. We can't be making excuses. A lot of other teams found themselves in a similar position and coped with it. You have to play the cards you're dealt." Most observers would contend that Anthony Forde's performances in the No.6 shirt were central to the unexpected championship 'success' enjoyed by the county in 2001. How would he assess his own performances? "I didn't have a great game against Down but things improved for me as the year went on. Things worked out well against Monaghan and in the first half against Tyrone. I was happy enough but would much sooner have played badly and won an Ulster medal." With counties now having to play an increased number of championship matches per season, how welcome is the longer-than-usual Christmas break resulting from the re-scheduled national league? "It's good, but a lot of teams were back training two or three months before Christmas anyway. Cavan started a bit later and have a bit of catching up to do. We've also been carrying quite a few injuries and need time to get used to the new manager and also for him to get used to us. Also, it's worth noting that with some clubs in Cavan having played right through into late in the year, some players didn't really have a break at all." Playing out of Division One will be a big help to Cavan's 2002 championship preparations. Forde agrees: "We were delighted to maintain our Division One status. We'll be playing top quality opposition, which can only be good for the young lads on the panel. It will also provide a good marker for Mattie [Kerrigan]". The draw for the 2002 Ulster championship has paired Cavan with the side that famously and narrowly defeated them a decade earlier en route to All-Ireland glory: Donegal. How does Anthony feel about that one? "It's going to be very tough. The last time we met them, in 1998, it was a huge struggle and I expect this one to be no different. Donegal/Cavan is always a big game and the wide-open space of Breffni Park will suit them as much as it suits us. They have some fine footballers and they will be really up for it after the disappointment of losing to Fermanagh in the preliminary round last year." A member of the county panel since 1995, Anthony tasted the joy of provincial final success in '97. It's something he'd dearly love to experience again, but what's a realistic target for '02? "To stay in Division One and play a few games in the championship would be a good start, but we really can't afford to look beyond the Donegal game. We have a lot of young players now and they'll need time to acclimatise to championship football. With the new manager in as well, it's really a learning curve for all of us." Tweet

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