Celtic Park is not exactly the Colesseum in Rome but there were certain similarities between the two when Fermanagh met Derry in the under 21 Championship two weekends ago.

Indeed it was fitting that the game was played on Easter Saturday. The Fermanagh men in the changing room were akin to the Christians who waited deep in the belly of the greatest amphitheatre in the world 2000 years ago. In the first century AD those first followers of Christ would meet their death beneath a scorching Roman sun with the sound of the crowd baying for blood ringing in their ears. For Fermanagh Under 21's their demise may not have been as gruesome and was certainly witnessed by a lot less people but in many ways it was as just as pre ordained.

Derry were as ruthless and merciless as the Lions of the Colesseum and by the time the final whistle blew the valiant effort of the men in green could only manifest itself in an eight point defeat. A moral victory if ever there was one.

It annoys me that a Fermanagh team had to take the field so far behind their opponents in terms of preparation and it is a real pity that once again a whole group of our young footballers have been let down. The preparation that was afforded these players and their management was simply not good enough and every single person who has Fermanagh football at heart should recognise the fact that things simply have to change if we are to give our young players a chance.

Over the past ten years we have drifted from the sublime to the ridiculous when it comes to the preparation of our under 21 county team. I know this all too bitterly.

In 2000, this columnist's second last year as an under 21, there was not a single training session held before we got thumped by Monaghan in the first round. And only for Pat King and John McElroy stepping into the breach at the 11th hour we may have had to line out the team ourselves. For the following campaign, however, things were very different with Dom Corrigan in charge from October 2000. A professional approach paid dividends and an Ulster Final was reached.

For the next number of years we seemed to have turned a corner and the under 21's were performing well but then things drifted again. Indeed just two years ago in this column I bemoaned the fact that Sean Maguire was only appointed to the job of county under 21 manager two and a half months before the first round of the championship.

A limp exit at the hands of Antrim was the result for a group of players who had contested an Ulster minor final in 2003. Not Sean's fault, he and his team were playing an impossible game of catch-up.

And it was Deja vu again for 2008. This time it was Michael Cassidy who accepted the poisoned chalice just one week before Christmas last year. By the time trials were held and a final squad picked Michael had just over two months to work with his charges. I say he performed a minor miracle in that time. Given the thumping that Derry gave Donegal (who had previously beaten Monaghan and Armagh) it must be wondered what might have been had Mickey got the six months any manager needs.

Not wishing to rake up old sores but the protracted nature of the search for a Fermanagh senior manager last year was one factor in the late appointment of an Under 21 boss. After Sean Maguire and Syd Mulrone had been unsuccessful in their attempt to the get the top job they were offered the under 21 post. They declined and a fresh search was undertaken. So it is little wonder that it was the mouth of Christmas before we had a man at the helm.

But what message does this send our under 21 players? The senior and minor teams who play their first round championship game two months after the under 21 team have managers in place seven months before the big game yet the under 21 team are afforded just over two months to prepare for their championship. Hardly seems fair does it?

It was Michael Cassidy who accepted the poisoned chalice just one week before Christmas last year. By the time trials were held and a final squad picked Michael had just over two months to work with his charges.

When given the honour of representing your county you should undertake to give a certain level of commitment as a pre requisite. But in return an infra structure should be in place that gives you as an individual, and by extension your team, the opportunity to maximise your potential. But before the infra structure can be set up there needs to be a clear strategy in place and with respect of our under 21's I do not think there is any semblance of a strategy. They deserve more and if we want Fermanagh football to continue to grow we need to start treating them better.

And in this respect while the horse has bolted for 2008 that doesn't stop us learning from the empty stable. The County Board started a under 21 tournament last year which was played at the tail end of the season and it proved to be a great success. This was an excellent idea and the they deserve credit for the initiative but to return to the religious analogies; 'what they giveth with one hand they taketh away with the other.' With no manager in place for the county team a valuable opportunity was missed to scout talent in a competitive environment.

For this seasons competition two things should happen. The age group should be changed to under 20 so as those playing will all be eligible for next years under 21 championship but the second and by far the most important change is to have the under 21 management team in place so they can go to games and actually look at the players at their disposal.

We have been much too hit and miss in terms of how we have treated the under 21 player over the past decade but to leave you on a positive note I want to bring people back to 2004. John O'Neill was in charge of the under 21's that year and had them out training in November. The county seniors by contrast were in disarray. No manager, no trainer and a team going no-where. Enter Charlie Mulgrew in January.

By June things had turned around and by August we were all floating along to Croke park for an All Ireland semi. But what is often forgotten is that eight of the panel that year were under 21's of whom seven played consistently throughout the campaign.

There is no doubt that the professional set-up and training at under 21 level allied to the impressive first round win over Down in Newry stood to those eight players as they stepped up to senior action. In our hit and miss history that was a hit year in terms of under 21 preparation.

If it had of been a miss there would have been no trips to Croke Park for our senior team.