Sean McDermotts set their stall out at the start of the 2007 season hoping to challenge for intermediate honours. Instead, they found themselves in a relegation dogfight. However, club captain Gary McEntee believes that the dramatic nature of their survival - and the character demonstrated to achieve it - means that ultimately '07 will be remembered as an encouraging year for the Threemilehouse men. The victory Sean McDermotts forged in 2007 may have been a slightly more modest one than that targeted at the year's outset - but it was nonetheless a significant and noteworthy success. Before a ball was kicked, the Threemilehouse representatives were aiming to build upon their fine reputation as a championship side by pushing for IFC honours. Once this dream evaporated, they instead found themselves in a battle to ensure that they'd be competing on the middle rung again in '08. The relegation scrap went right down to the wire and the McDermotts pulled out two monster performances late on to salvage their season and finish the year on an unlikely high. There may have been no adult silverware on display in the heel of the hunt but the lads felt like winners as their mettle had been fully tested and they rose to the challenge accordingly. Midfielder Gary McEntee, who captained his club in '07, synopsises the post-season mood in the clubhouse: "When you set out at the start of any year, you're always hoping for silverware - I'm sure it's the same in every club. We intended to give the intermediate championship a good shot but, at the end, to stay up was as good as winning any championship." The nature of the Seans' survival was quite extraordinary. They appeared to be staring down the barrel of a relegation shotgun with only a few matches remaining but successive victories over recently-crowned junior champions Tyholland and high-flying Monaghan Harps left them suddenly in the comfort zone with a game to spare. It was a sensational Houdini act from a club that looked destined for the drop; a feat that should inspire confidence for the coming campaign. "We've been intermediate or higher since 1993, including a couple of years senior, so we see ourselves as an established intermediate club now," the 2007 captain continues. "You hope every year to get back senior - and it's not impossible - but we had a couple of injuries in crucial areas and a few lads missing here and there, which hampered our chances. In the end, it was an achievement just to stay up and we were happy with that. "There was a lot of motivation in the team going into the last three league games. We knew we had to win two of those matches - against Tyholland, Monaghan Harps and Truagh - to stay up, and the lads rose to the occasion. It seemed to bring out the best in us. We won the first two against Tyholland and the Harps, so we were already safe by the time we played Truagh. We did it the hard way but it showed what we can do if we have everyone available and up for it." And what's it like for a long-serving 32-year-old clubman to be handed the captain's armband on behalf of the Kilmore & Drumsnatt parish? "It's always an honour to captain your club no matter what stage your career is at. I was delighted to be asked and I took it up," says Gary. No doubt, the club stalwart would love to have collected some silverware on behalf of the Seans but at least he led them to safety when all seemed momentarily lost. Gary has been a real asset to the club from the age of ten and his performances in 2007 were as dependable as ever. Sean McDermotts faced Cremartin in the first round of the 2007 Monaghan IFC at Clontibret on Saturday May 13. This was an extremely entertaining match to which both sides contributed enormously but there could only be one winner and it was the Cremartin boys who prevailed by 2-13 to 1-12 after leading by 1-9 to 0-7 at the interval. The Seans introduced Damien Larkin early in the second half and were level by the 47th minute but had no answer to Darren Bishop's uncanny accuracy on the day. In the loser's section, the Seans led Emyvale by nine points in Clontibret at half time and went on to record a morale-boosting victory in mid-August but they came a cropper against Corduff in the next round of the back-door phase - 1-11 to 0-9. The Threemilehouse side trailed all the way in horrible, wet conditions and were never afforded any space by a hard-working Corduff defence. The side on duty against Corduff in the championship was: Darren McArdle; Conor Connolly, Emyln Clerkin, Martin Kieran; Fintan McKenna, Michael McGuinness, Nigel Lynch; Gary McEntee (0-1), Mark McEntee; James Treanor (0-2), Paddy Kieran, Christopher Connolly; Ciaran Murphy, Damien Larkin (0-3), Pat Kieran (0-1). Subs: David Treanor, Damien Tackney Reflecting on the three championship matches, Gary notes: "It was disappointing because we have shown ourselves to be a championship team in the past, no more so than in 2002 when we won the county and Ulster intermediate club championships. We feel that we're a championship team. We can beat anybody on our day but I suppose the opposite also applies in that we can lose to anybody if we don't get it right. To be honest, the championship is an easier route up to senior. In the league, you'll get rewarded for consistency but anybody can beat anybody in the championship and that's what makes it so exciting." With the same management team in place as the previous year, the Seans prepared well for the challenges of 2007 and the players generally gave of their all. It was a decent effort from all concerned and the club captain has no complaints: "Training was good and it was hard. But unfortunately we have a lot of lads who are based away from home, in Dublin or elsewhere, and it's impossible to get everyone together during the week. Only the lads who are based at home can train during the week, while the city-based players are left to their own devices to train up there. It's as good an arrangement as any club can come up with and there are no problems on that front. "We have a young team, with a nice blend of youth and experience. There's plenty of potential there, so it's a matter of harnessing it and giving it another go next year, when hopefully we can realise our full potential." Certainly, it the Seans tap into the kind of form that saw them preserve their status towards the end of the year, then they will be a force to be reckoned with in the 2008 intermediate football championship. Tweet

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