As a teacher in St. Mary’s Brollagh, Simon Bradley got to know the majority of the current group of Erne Gaels players well.

They are people and players that he holds in high regard, but on Sunday that will go out the window as he looks to steer his side to the Senior Championship title at the expense of the Belleek outfit.

“Every one of them are great lads. I’ve known them since they were 11 years old, and they are a very tight group of friends, and that is a big thing in a team.

“They were relatively successful at school level, given Brollagh was a small school, and lots of them won Vocational All Stars when they were running and many of them went on to play county Minor and county U-21. It is a talented bunch,” said Bradley.

And the Enniskillen boss knows that they face a stern test if they are to end a 16-year wait for the New York Cup when the sides meet at Brewster Park.

Indeed, when the sides met in the league at the same venue, it was Erne Gaels who prevailed, denying Enniskillen a place in the league final.

“We’ve learnt that Erne Gaels are a very dangerous team and that we will have to be at the top of our performance levels to win the championship this year.

“They are capable of playing an open brand of football and they have shown a willingness to throw the ball about and try and create chances, and they have scored a lot of goals this year because of that.

“Equally, they can stifle you and hit you on the counter. They are very adept at that, too, so we know that we simply have to be at the top of our game,” said Bradley.

Bradley sees similar trajectories in the two teams in recent years as they have stepped out of Intermediate to make an immediate impact on the Senior championship.

“Like ourselves the year before, they came up from Intermediate, they got to a league final and then to the Championship final. It is a great bounce, coming out of the Intermediate, because you are coming out with a lot of success and hope and Erne Gaels have certainly fulfilled that, and are worthy finalists.”

It was a double disappointment though for Enniskillen last year as they lost both the league and Championship final to Derrygonnelly, but Bradley feels that the Gaels are in a better position this time around after taking on board the lessons of 12 months ago.

“We won’t be dwelling too much on last year’s defeat – it is a case of learning from it.

“We are a very different team this year to what we were last year.

“Number one, we are fitter and we are stronger, and we also have a stronger panel. We have a deeper bench and with that a much greater competition for places, which is driving on training,” he added.

And the determination of the players to improve from last year and get back to the final again this year has impressed Bradley.

“Having lost the Championship final last year, we set them certain targets away from the football pitch and the vast majority have matched those targets and in some cases surpassed them.

“I have been very impressed with the team’s attitude, from losing the final last year through to getting back to the final this year.

‘Responded’

“In individual games, the way they have responded to difficult circumstances – to being down against Belnaleck, to beating Roslea in Roslea, which was always going to be a tough game, and then to come back from behind twice against Derrygonnelly – shows a great attitude, resolve and belief.

“I think the players are showing a lot more composure this year than they were last year,” he added.

There is no doubt that this is a talented group of Enniskillen players, with a lot of them having won an Ulster Minor Club title, with a number having also landed the Hogan Cup with St. Michael’s, and Bradley says they are hungry to now taste success at Senior level.

“They are definitely hungry. A lot of these boys are winners from underage and from schools and they know what it takes to win big games, granted at underage levels, and they also know what it feels like to win things and they want to keep that feeling going.

“They are very focused on maintaining that record of being involved in winning teams.”

So, what will it take for Enniskillen to lift the title on Sunday evening?

“We just need to play our game to the standard we know we can play it, and we need to take our chances, which is a big thing.

“We’ll see where the chips fall then at the end of it. But I think if we perform we have a great opportunity to win the Championship.”