Courtesy of Impartial Reporter

Enniskillen Gaels have appointed former player Gerry Love as their senior manager for the forthcoming season.
Love, who won two championships with the Gaels in 1987 and 1992, had his appointment ratified last Friday night and he is looking forward to the challenge of trying to take Enniskillen back to the top flight after their relegation to Division Two last season.

The new man at the helm has built a good reputation in the local soccer scene with Enniskillen Town in the Fermanagh and Western league where he won a string of trophies, including the Irish Junior Cup, and he is now excited about switching codes.
"Gaelic football is a sport that I have always loved, believe it or not more so than soccer, and when I stopped playing I always kept a keen interest on how the Gaels were doing and would have attended a lot of matches. It is obviously another challenge for me but it is something which I am really looking forward to. There is no doubt in my mind about the quality that still exists within the Gaels and I'm looking forward to working with the players. I would know a lot of them anyway through soccer while there is still one or two of them there who would have been playing when I was finishing up," he said.
Although he realises the difference between managing in the two sports, he does feel that there is also similarities as well.
"There will obviously be some differences along the way with training and tactics but essentially a lot of it will also be the same in that you are trying to manage a group players," he said.
First thing on the agenda for Love is to set up a meeting with the players and he will then take it from there.
"I will take the opportunity to meet up with the players now that it is all sorted and see what is their expectations for the season and tell them about my expectations," he said.
Enniskillen suffered relegation last season after losing a play off by a single point to Derrygonnelly Harps, and in truth had flirted with the drop for a number of years. The new manager is therefore keen that the league, and ultimately promotion, is top priority for the season ahead.
"Enniskillen Gaels have been up at the top for so long that the greatest challenge when you are up there is to remain up there. There is no reason that I can see why they can't return to a winning frame of mind but first of all we have to target promotion. Getting out of Division Two is paramount and we'll be looking to hit the ground running when the league starts. It is also important to be winning games if we want to be challenging in the championship. You just can't go into the championship and think that you can turn it on when you want. You would want to be showing good form in the league and take it from there. The championship though is a long way off and we'll just be focusing on the league for now and trying to get back to Division One," stated Love.
It has been argued that the problem for the Gaels has been that they have not brought enough youth through into their senior side in recent years. Love though will give young players their chance although he believes that the more experienced players will also have a crucial role to play.
"Anybody who knows the way I operate will know that it doesn't matter how young you are, if you are good enough then you will play. The older players though are also important. It is okay saying that you have good players but you also want them to be able to communicate on the pitch and there are players here who can do that. We will not be looking to build around individuals, this is going to be a team effort. We want to build a good team spirit and we want the players to enjoy playing football no matter what adult team at the club they are playing for," he commented.