Fermanagh hurling manager, Tom Walsh was this week in an upbeat mood that Fermanagh can lift next Sunday's Allianz NHL Division 3 final against Leitrim.
In Sunday's respective semi-finals, Fermanagh saw off Monaghan (1-12 to 0-5), and Leitrim dismissed Cavan (4-11 to 2-4).
Until recently, Fermanagh have been suffering from personnel problems, 'stayaways' and injuries. However, the squad was in a much more comfortable shape at Markievicz Park, Walsh having been properly informed by two key players, Karl Kehoe and Dermot Curran that they would not be there. But, even then, as he explained to the 'Herald' this week, he was very glad that Declan McGarry was available.
"He has been injured, as you know, and he was away in Lourdes on a pilgrimage and he only came home on Sunday morning. He played exceptionally well, despite the fact he got violently sick during the game".
As for the game itself, Walsh said he had to give credit where credit was due and paid tribute to the team for hurling so well.
"They knuckled hard and they battled away and they hurled exceptionally well for the first 15 minutes to lead by 0-7 to 0-1. But, then the fell asleep between the 15th and the 45th minute and allowed Monaghan back into it.
"We only led by three points at halftime despite the fact we were far superior and, had Monaghan taken their chances, we could have been behind at halftime. But, we reconstructed the team slightly for the second-half, and the boys came out and, for the first 5 minutes, Monaghan were on top but, after that, we were in control.
"So, yes, I am a happy man. We're now in a national final. We had a lot of problems earlier on, but they're now resolved and, if we hurl like we did in the first 15 minutes or in the second-half, I don't see why we can win on Sunday".
He accepted that beating Leitrim would be easy. Their semi-final match against Cavan was played prior to the Fermanagh game, so the players got to see for themselves power scoring from Clement Conniffe (0-6, three frees) and goals from Brian Carroll, Burns, McGrail and Murray for an emphatic 13-point victory.
Walsh expects to have a full squad to pick from, and after tonight's training session at Lissan he will have Sunday's line-out more or less penned in.
