Leitrim project will take time says Moran who stresses time needed to build intensity and physicality

You wouldn't say Andy Moran was in combative or even despondent mood after last Saturday's Tailteann Cup defeat at the hands of Fermanagh because the Leitrim manager saw enough in the display against the Division 2 bound Ernesiders give him hope for the future, a future he believes needs time to come to fruition.

The 1-19 to 2-7 defeat was greeted with resigned gloom rather than any anger by Leitrim fans but the former footballer of the year called for supporters to be patient as he firmly believes this Green & Gold team have the ability to compete at a much higher level.

In an unusual turn, Moran turned the question on the Observer, asking "If I was to turn it on you, which I’ve never done in an interview in my life, if I was to say what are the positives, what would you say?" after asked about some positive signs despite the disappointing defeat. Agreeing that his players had shown huge commitment and spirit, Andy added "You missed Keith, you missed Ryan, these guys where you needed - the Evan Sweeneys - and to be honest, I’m absolutely blown away by the effort.

Drumshanbo based Ryan Jones hopes Leitrim make it through after Fermanagh's Tailteann Cup victory

"I thought the effort here today, the amount of tackles the boys put in, the amount of breaking ball they won, they could have very easily dropped the head for the second half but we eventually started scoring a few of our goal chances - that’s Mark Plunkett’s first ever championship goal for Leitrim, a big deal, and I’d say it is Paul Keaney’s first goal as well."

His belief in his team, while acknowledging the failure to trouble the scoreboard enough, is total: "I thought it was a really, not sounding patronising to anyone, a really good performance in many ways but we just couldn’t put enough on the board to really trouble Fermanagh. They started Sean Quigley, we started without Keith, I think that is a plus for them and a minus for us in terms of scoring."

So strong in his belief in this crop of Leitrim players, that Moran called for supporters to be patient as it takes time to build a team to compete: "Many people won’t believe me when I say this -, I’ve said it to you many times - it can’t be seen as a one or two year project, you need to build physicality, you don’t build it over six, eight months time, you build it over three, four years and then you really go after it.

Leitrim and Fermanagh fans out in force for Tailteann Cup clash - GALLERY

Leitrim and Fermanagh fans turned out in good numbers to cheer on their counties in the second round of the Tailteann Cup in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada with the visitors taking the spoils on a 1-19 to 2-7 scoreline. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was busy snapping fans at the game .... see who you can spot!

"You see the likes of Paul Moran, Radek Oberwan coming on, Oisin McLoughlin making his championship debut, we’re building a nice squad, people just need to be patient and let them develop naturally as it is supposed to go along and then hopefully we get Donal Casey, Ryan O’Rourke, Keith Beirne, Conor Reynolds and these guys back over the next few months and into 2024.

"I firmly believe that it is going to take time, I firmly believe this team can play in a higher division and if that is Division 3 or further afield, I think we can and I think tonight, for long periods of that game, 40, 45 minutes over both halves, we showed that we can compete and we competed out there with some of our best players missing. There are good players in Leitrim but we need to build that level of intensity, that level of physicality and be consistent with it."

Neither did the Leitrim manager agree fully with the idea that Fermanagh's superior physicality was the decisive factor in the contest, instead pointing to the absence of key Leitrim players: "Physicality, I wouldn’t put it down to, some people are just really natural - if you think about it, you know me and I won’t make excuses, I’m not making excuses because I’m so proud of the boys who played, every one of the 20.

"But if you look last year, Keith was the second top scorer all throughout the championship and League and Ryan was the sixth and then you are down their scoring power. You score 2-6 or 2-7 and then add their seven or eight points, that could be the difference in a lot of what you do between attacking and defending."

Despite the nine point loss, Andy is a fan of the Tailteann Cup and hopes that Leitrim can still get the victory that will keep their campaign alive: "The Tailteann Cup is unbelievable - what are we on, the 20th of May and we’re going to be playing for the second year in a row into June. I think you can see it in teams, you can see it in Sligo, the way they competed with Sligo - yes, it was a 14 point defeat but you can see that gap is closing.

"It is not going to close completely if the resources aren’t there and you’ll see it over the next couple of weeks that some of these teams are getting closer and closer to the big teams and that can only be good for the championship going forward."

Battling Leitrim unable to match physical power and know-how of impressive Fermanagh

LEITRIM 2-7 FERMANAGH 1-19

Right now, Leitrim face Wexford in the third round and Andy is hopeful Leitrim will have reinforcements on the pitch for a must win clash: "That’s what it is, is really is going to be as simple as that - a straight shootout and then hopefully everything else goes our way. We will have Keith back, we will have Conor Reynolds back and we will have Nevin O’Donnell back and maybe, maybe Adam Reynolds but we will definitely have those three guys back and see where we go."