After presiding over Monaghan's most successful year since 1988, Seamus McEnaney has no intention of resting on his laurels and is hoping the gut-wrenching All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Kerry will galvanise his players and help them reach greater heights in the year ahead. Despite overseeing Monaghan's best championship campaign in nearly 20 years and bringing much joy to the county's fanatical supporters, Seamus McEnaney isn't contented. The agonising All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry is still fresh in his mind, and the only way he believes he can lay that particular ghost to rest is by delivering silverware in 2008. "I'm hoping that the hurt that we felt after the Kerry game and still feel to a certain degree will drive us on next year. There are two ways Monaghan can go in 2008. We can either go by the wayside or we can build on what we achieved this year. And I'm hopeful that hurt will give us an extra edge and make us a more determined team," the Monaghan manager says. "I was delighted with the effort the players put in this year, their discipline and the respect they showed for the Monaghan jersey. "But it's going to take a serious effort to get back to playing as good as they did this year. It's going to take something special from the players, it'll take something extra from the manager and only time will tell to see if we can find all that. "Monaghan are going to have to progress from where they were last season and in most people's eyes that amounts to winning silverware." The Corduff man is satisfied that Monaghan have improved each year since he took up the managerial reins at the end of 2004. But despite this year's heroics which saw the Farney men contest their first Ulster final since 1988 and reach the All-Ireland quarter-final for the first time, he is disappointed that they had nothing tangible to show for their efforts. "In terms of progress, 2007 was a great year. We have progressed every year since 2005 which is very encouraging. This time last year, I had a few hard calls to make. It wasn't about contemplating what was right for me, but what was right for Monaghan football. And it's great to able to look back now and be able to say I've had no regrets about staying on. "There are an awful lot of positives to take from 2007. We progressed both mentally and physically, and showed that we can compete at a high level. The only downside was that we didn't put silverware on the table. The bottom line is that it hurts us that we didn't win silverware, but hopefully we'll put that right next year." Following their relegation last year, Monaghan's first objective for 2007 was to win promotion in the National League. This was achieved with a run of seven straight victories in Division 2A, though there was to be no repeat of their memorable 2005 Division 2 final triumph over Meath with the Royals ending Monaghan's unbeaten record in the semi-final under the new Croke Park floodlights. Despite that loss, McEnaney and his assistants Martin McElkennon and Adrian Trappe were far from downbeat, and they approached the Ulster championship in a positive frame of mind. But they faced a difficult championship opener away to a Down team that had the benefit of two games against Cavan. On a perfect day for football at Newry's revamped Pairc Esler, Monaghan showed their mettle by staging a late rally to snatch a dramatic 2-15 to 1-15 victory - their first over the Mournemen in the championship in 19 years. The visitors notched the first three points, only to be pegged back by a Packie Downey goal. By the 20th minute, Down had hit the front, but Monaghan regained the lead after 23 minutes when Ciaran Hanratty crashed home a brilliant goal. However, Down responded with three unanswered points between the 27th and 34th minutes to lead by 1-7 to 1-6 at the short whistle. The third quarter was a relatively quite affair with few scores and the sides level twice with Monaghan playing catch-up on both occasions. Down led by two points heading into the closing stages, but Hanratty then grabbed his second goal and three late points from Paul Finlay sealed the visitors' win. Monaghan continued their winning ways with another marvellous win over a much-fancied Derry to qualify for the Ulster final. The Farney County went into the Clones showdown against 2003 and 2005 All-Ireland champions Tyrone as underdogs, but with All-Star Thomas Freeman and converted full forward Vincent Corey to the fore, they pushed the favourites all the way in a narrow 1-13 to 1-15 defeat. Monaghan quickly put that disappointment behind them to beat National League winners Donegal in the All-Ireland qualifiers and set up a glamour All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Kerry at Croke Park. An estimated 25,000 Monaghan supporters made the trip to GAA headquarters and they witnessed a heroic effort from their team that almost toppled the All-Ireland champions. Boosted by Thomas Freeman's early penalty, the Ulster underdogs led up until the closing minutes when a late Kerry surge saw them snatch a 1-12 to 1-11 victory. McEnaney's famous quote, "I feel like my heart has been taken out without surgery" captured the mood of the entire county in the immediate aftermath of that defeat, but he is now keen to move on from that and use it as a motivational tool in the coming season. "2007 is history and the task now facing us is to prove that it wasn't a flash in the pan and that we can be every bit as good next year," the manager says. "I'm heading into my fourth year with this team and I want to try to improve them further. We're now among the top 10 or 12 teams in the country, but I firmly believe we can do better than that. If we can take on board the lessons on this year, we'll be a better team." Monaghan have been drawn against Fermanagh in next year's Ulster championship quarter-final, and will be one of the favourites for provincial glory after this year's narrow loss to Tyrone. But that is still a long way off for 'Banty' who is more concerned about Monaghan's opening assignment in Division 2 of the restructured National League against Roscommon. "We're not looking any further than Roscommon on February 2 in Clones. We'll be starting from scratch again in that game and we have to be ready for that as well as the games which follow against Armagh, Dublin, Meath, Cavan, Westmeath and Cork. "It's probably a stronger division than Division 1 and it's a great standard for Monaghan to be at. It's also great for the point of view that we'll have three local derbies (against Armagh, Cavan and Meath) which usually bring out the best in teams." In conclusion, McEnaney promises to do whatever it takes to bring long overdue championship silverware to Monaghan. "We'll be leaving no stone unturned and I can guarantee the panel is going to be freshened up. There's going to be huge competition for places within the 30. "I will have some hard decisions to make, but I won't be shying away when that time comes. I will be making them." Tweet

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