No divided loyalties for Leitrim Ladies manager Jonny Garrity as he looks for a performance

Next Sunday’s Lidl LGFA Division 4 Semi-Final is a big game for both Leitrim and Fermanagh but for Jonny Garrity, it is somewhat special as the Leitrim manager comes up against a team and players he previously managed.

Yet Jonny insists that while there is a good bit of history there, it is Leitrim where his thoughts are concentrated on in Bawnboy’s Templeport GAA club: “From the extent of coming up against players, obviously we were on a journey together, then there is that bit of history. My native county is Tyrone but I do work in Fermanagh with Fermanagh GAA and obviously I have managed Fermanagh Ladies in the past.

“I have very fond memories of players that we had and many of them are still there today but all of that goes out the window - we’re extremely professional and I’m sure the Fermanagh players will expect nothing less from us and our focus is totally on the job in hand and we’re determined to get a result.”

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Having topped their group in the split Division 4, Leitrim probably start the game as favourites, not that Jonny pays too much heed to that: “Yeah maybe but we were also told before the group stage started that Wicklow were not only favourites for the group but probably for the whole national league, having come down from Division 3. 

“At this stage, people are talking about Antrim as being favourites to win the whole thing. Everybody is entitled to their opinion but I would pass very little remarks on any opinions that are outside our circle. Our focus is solely on ourselves, on trying to ensure we get the performance that we require.”

One challenge Leitrim will face will be choosing who to play as the unlimited subs rule that were allowed during the group stages will not be available for the semi-final, meaning some hard choices for Jonny and his management team: “Back to the five subs for the knockout stages - we’ve certainly utilised the ability to make unlimited subs in the group stage, that will be something we have to adjust to.

“But at the same time, it is a case of bringing on people who are going to make an impact and I undoubtedly have got a host of players who are able to do that. There will be some girls disappointed not to start or finish the game.

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“They know it is the start of the process, they are aware and very well versed that everybody has got a huge part to play, even if in any given game they don’t feature, they still are massively valued and massively important to what we are doing. It is one of them but we’ll see what happens in the game, we’ll make the changes we feel we need to.”

What the Leitrim manager wants first and foremost is a performance from his troops: “It is not even a case of thinking about the result, it is all in the performance - the result will look after itself. Everything we’ve done over the last number of weeks since we were last out against Wicklow is to improve on that performance and if we can manage to do that, we’ll be very difficult to beat.”