As Ryan Hanna spoke about his time as Tummery Athletic player/manager it was clear to hear the pride in his voice at what he and the club achieved since he took over the helm in 2019.

For Hanna led the first team with distinction and it brought a huge bounty in three Mercer Leagues and a Mulhern Cup for the Dromore club who have become one the benchmark teams of Fermanagh and Western, and indeed, Junior football in Northern Ireland.

But all things do come to an end and with the 23/24 season now in the rearview mirror, Hanna decided to step away from the claret and blues.

But while he may no longer be involved with the club, the respect he has for it will last a lifetime.

Speaking on his decision to part ways at this time, Hanna explained: "It wasn’t anything singular I suppose.

"I made the decision in my head a number of weeks ago that after the season I would be stepping down and stepping away.

"If you listen to your heart you'd probably do things a lot differently because of the people, the relationships, the memories and all that but I would rather leave knowing people don’t want you to leave having all those bonds and those friendships than the other way about and thankfully that’s the case."

When Hanna took the job in 2019 he admitted it was "a step into the unknown" but what transpired over the following years proved that his appointment was a good one.

"I was comfortable and familiar with coaching. I'd been involved in different things with Gaelic and the hurling and different things like that.

"But to take on the management of a football club that size and the first team. Firstly, they gave me the opportunity so I have to thank them for that.

"They saw something in me that I probably didn’t see."

And over the years, Hanna's Tummery built an identity - a never-say-die attitude - that became synonymous with them.

So many games over the years came down to late winners and those clutch moments which ultimately won them trophies.

"For us, it was just about mentality and creating a resilience," Hanna said.

"Maybe we didn’t have the best pool of players in terms of talent but see in terms of commitment and the lads who did commit that’s what got us over the line in so many games, that mentality.

"That’s what we fed off and that’s what it was all about."

2019/20 saw a Covid-ravaged season and the Mercer League being decided on a points average which Tummery won.

Hanna felt that was never in doubt.

His second season saw Tummery back up the first. And they did it again in his third.

And all of the successes were built on that resilience: "We never blew anybody away with maybe the talent we had but I think we did with how hard we worked on the pitch and the commitment, never say die, last minute goals and that embodied the club and that’s what we thrived off.

"Did I envisage it? No. Did I believe? Yes, because that was the ambition and thankfully I had the support of the players, the management team and the club to allow me the foundations and the environment to do that."

All the successes were "sweet in their own right" and will live long in the memory for Hanna but he was just grateful they happened describing them as "unforgettable moments".

With a well-earned holiday underway, Hanna said he will reflect on all of it while he is away. And while he has left the club in a better position than when he arrived, he modestly adds that he was only part of a bigger machine.

"I played a part but there are so many cogs in that wheel. The club provided an environment to allow me to do that.

"They gave me the autonomy and the respect. Nothing was ever no, it was yes or they would try.

"Then the players, we maybe didn’t have all the availability with other commitments but anyone available always gave 100 per cent.

"I think success breeds success and I think the club were really good at jumping on that with what they have done with the youth and bringing it through and them going to the matches and that breeds success and you see it with the infrastructure and the new 3G pitch coming.

"Maybe people get to see the first team from an exposure point of view but it’s the underbelly, all the things that are done that people don’t see that created that environment.

"I have absolutely no doubt about it, the club will go from strength to strength."

But it will be someone else leading the first team come August, but Hanna will always have the club close to his heart: "The foundations are there and I really believe it will go from strength to strength.

"But I felt it was my time to step away as hard as it was. And all good things come to an end."