Just five short years ago Enniskillen Town United were the nearly men of the Fermanagh and Western and sometimes they were not even that near. But all that has changed since and they have emerged as the dominant force in local Junior football.

Much of the credit for that transformation must be given to their manager since December 03, Gerry Love. A much travelled player himself Gerry has made Enniskillen Town his home and has bright hopes for the future of the club.

In May he led his team to a league and cup double capturing both the Fermanagh and Western League Division One title and the Mulhern Cup and this achievement made him our choice for Sports Personality of the Month.

"Nobody in the club had ever done the league and cup double so doing that this season was great," Love explained to the Herald this week.

But a League and Cup double seemed a long way off when Love first walked into the Town dressing room five years ago but he worked his magic within five months as his side won the Mulhern and maintained their division one status.

"The first priority was just to survive in division one. When I arrived the side were bottom or second from bottom but we got a good run in the cup and got some nice draws and we won the cup that year beating the Junior Cup holders, Irvinestown, in the process."

But there was much to Love's plans than simply managing the team for 90 minutes on a Saturday and the first was to bring about a change of home venue.

"One of the first things I wanted to do was get away from Celtic Park. The Town were and are a footballing side and it was always difficult to play football on that pitch especially when the bad weather came."

And Love was also aware of another obstacle that stood in the patch of league success.

"There was always a quality in the club and the boys could play football but there was always an impression that the Town were not as match fit as the other teams."

Love, in a tactful way, is perhaps hinting that there was not enough training done by the players so he is asked, was regular training something that he wanted to nail down? And the answer is unequivocal.

"It was something that I did nail down. Those days were gone, unless there was a good reason you did not miss training. If you did not come down there was no way that I was going to consider you for a game on a Saturday."

And the boys soon realised that Love was serious.

"The boys had to buy into it. There were some boys who were living on the past and thinking they could come down at the weekend and get a game with the Town. Well maybe they could but it was not going to be with the first team."

And from this starting point Love built around him a team of players he could trust and the Town are now recognised as one of the most committed sides in the Fermanagh Western, not just on the 90 minutes on a Saturday but also Monday to Friday as well.

"The response was great from the players and it has been great for my whole time at the club," Love stated.

And Love is till driven by success, albeit he puts more emphasis on winning the league than he does the cup competitions.

"The league has always been the priority and will remain so for as long as I am here. The bottom line is that the best team wins the league," Love explained before continuing to remember a time when the Town were barely whispered about as possible league contenders.

"I remember the 04-05 season and there was a preview in the paper where managers were asked who they thought would win the league and the only person to even mention us was Peter Goan, who was manager of Swifts, and he said that we could be dark horses."

Over the years Love has brought a number of players to the club including now Town stalwarts such as James McKenna and Matthew Keenan but Love has also promoted from the Town's youth ranks.

"I would be more than happy to take somebody who is coming up from the under 16's or whatever and this year especially we have done that with the likes of Kane Connor this year," he points out.

And there may be bigger things to come for both the Town and Love with the club hoping to make the step up to Intermediate level and Love is hoping he can get the opportunity to manage the Town at this higher level.

With an application pending for planning at a soccer pitch on the Cornagrade Road Town are hopeful that they can make the step up in the near future.

"There is great talent within the town boundaries and there are a lot of youngsters going to different clubs outside the town and it is important that we try to improve and give our youngsters a chance to play at a higher level," Love enthused but he was also quick to point out that those players who retire in the coming years need to be harnessed by the club and kept involved in some way or another. He sees the club as very much a family club and indeed his own family, wife Anne, and children Romaine, Haydan and Aleta give their father all the support he needs. And it is a sense of belonging that Love would like to see people develop with the club.

"The squad is still quit young but even those who are maybe that bit older and coming to the end of their footballing careers I would hope would stay involved with the club in some way, maybe coaching the young ones or whatever, rather than just leaving when their career is over."

Gerry Love was a much travelled player, but now he seems to have found a home and looks set to become a major figure in the expanse of Enniskillen Town.