St Josephs failed to realise their potential in 2002. But Aidan Gorham - who managed the side through their most recent campaign - is convinced that there's at least one more senior championship in the current Dromiskin/Darver crop. Aidan should know too: he guided the Joes to their first and only Joe Ward Cup success back in 1996. With the field now as wide open as it's ever been, St Josephs will definitely be among the genuine contenders for senior championship glory next year. They have invariably been there or thereabouts since scooping their only SFC to date in 1996 - and were decidedly unfortunate to bow out of contention both in 2000 and 2001 in particular after playing some wonderful football. By their own usual high standards, therefore, 2002 must rate as a bit of a disappointment. Even though big things were expected from them, the Joes never reached the knock-out stages. Granted, they were unlucky not to do so . . . but such a realisation hardly cushions the blow. Reflecting on how the season panned out, manager Aidan Gorham admits that disappointment is the predominant emotion in the St Josephs clubhouse: "We expected to do better. We'd had a good run in the championship the previous year and were involved in the two best games of last year's competition [the epic two-game quarter-final against the Blues]. We were unlucky and we felt confident of making a big impact in the 2002 championship, but it never happened. "We were also hopeful of going straight back up to Division 1A. We didn't make it in the league either, but in fairness the Clans and the Mairtins gave us good competition and fully deserved promotion. The championship was a real disappointment, however." Playing out of Group B, the Joes got the ball rolling with a 2-12 to 1-7 defeat of Naomh Fionnbarra. But they were then caught on the hop by the Gaels, losing 1-8 to 1-5. This set up a do-or-die meeting with Naomh Mairtin: the Joes led by 0-9 to 0-5 with ten minutes remaining but conceded two goals inside three minutes to lose 2-6 to 0-10 and bow out of the championship. "The players certainly feel that they underachieved. The critical game was the second one against the Gaels and everything conspired against us that day. It was just a bad day all around. We played badly and were missing six players, including Ollie McDonnell. "And against the Mairtins, conceding those late goals cost us dearly." Despite never being at their best, the Joes had almost sneaked through to the last eight. Had they made it to the knock-outs, they would have grown in stature. They could well have gone on to take gold, such was the room for improvement inherent in the side. The wide-open nature of championship football in the Wee County these days allows for such eventualities. As Aidan observes: "Of course we could have won it - and we can win it next year. "Nobody could be overly optimistic of winning a championship in Louth at the moment because it's a very level playing field. It's there for anyone who wants to apply themselves, which is evident from the success of Mattock Rangers, who have done brilliantly these past two years. The Brides also had an excellent year, so it's clearly there for anybody who wants to grasp it. There's no one outstanding team." The obvious follow-on from this is that the Joes have as good a chance as anyone else: "There's no doubt we can come again. The core group of players on the team is still around 27/28 so they still have a few years of peak form left. What it's really going to come down to is hunger and application. They're a great bunch of lads and they're extremely talented; they just need the motivation. "Having said that, the panel isn't exactly what you'd call extensive and there hasn't been a great influx of youth. Brendan O'Donoghue came through but several others of the same age got distracted and fell away. We could do with an injection of youth to safeguard our medium-term future." Team affairs in 2002 were looked after by Aidan Gorham, Paddy Farrelly, Jim Hoey and Eugene McArdle. Stephen Melia handled training. "Stephen's dedication is fantastic and he has been unfortunate not to have got the rewards his efforts deserve with us," Aidan intimates. "They did train and it was first class. There was nothing wrong with morale. The tragic loss of Philip Duffy in an accident was heartbreaking and the lads rallied together and they were really disappointed not to do it for him." A one-time county minor, Aidan himself played senior football with the Joes between 1972 and '95. He has managed the first team in 1995, '96, '97, 2000 and 2002. A graduate of the Level One coaching course, he has always endeavoured to bring in outside influences to assist with training (Gareth Doyle and Jim Lynskey being two examples): "There are so many other distractions these days and lads are just so busy that one of the main challenges facing a coach is to make training as varied as possible, to keep lads interested and to make sure things don't go stale." Is Aidan surprised that the Joes have so far failed to add to their 1996 championship heist? "I am. Although, it should be pointed out that, while we do have five or six exceptional footballers, we don't have a massive pool of talent. But we've been very, very close on a number of occasions. "We've had a few unlucky breaks too. Declan O'Sullivan is a brilliant talent but he was out all year again after undergoing a second cruciate ligament operation. We also lost Aidan Maguire, who is a real stalwart of the team, in the first championship match against Togher. "Probably our biggest weakness in 2002 was that we conceded too many goals due to the lack of defensively-minded players at our disposal." Despite this, the outlook is promising: "There's a good young squad coming up under Patrick Mulligan - who is a great worker with a lot of experience - and hopefully they will come through to augment the current team. "There has been a population explosion here over the past two or three years but it will take about six or seven years before that impacts on the parish. "There's a good club there with tremendous facilities - as good as anything else in the county. There's a lot being done with the underage footballers too, so there is every reason why the club should grow and continue to thrive." Finally, how well will they do next year? "The players are in the gym over the winter and they're keeping together as a group to make sure they're properly prepared for the forthcoming season. It's all about being mentally and physically prepared. "After that, for anyone who wants to follow the example of Collon, it's all about application and some form of motivational factor - perhaps hunger or pride, or both. "When all other things are equal, the talent will shine through. And we have no shortage of that!" Tweet

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