Derrygonnelly relinquished their Division One title to Enniskillen Gaels this month but will be aiming to sure up any gaps before commencing their quest to preserve the Harps name on the Mannok Senior Football Championship trophy.

They have been dropped into a group that includes the team they beat in last year’s final at Brewster Park, in Erne Gaels, who will be renewed under manager Declan Bonner.

They also face an Ederney side who got the upper hand of them in the league this year.

The Harps begin at home to Devenish, with captain Shane McGullion expecting three close encounters in the upcoming weeks.

“It’s a very tough group and all four teams will be backing themselves to top the group and give the championship a good go,” McGullion said.

“We will have three very tight games which we will have to prepare our best for. But looking forward to getting started.”

Derrygonnelly were without Garvan, Ryan and Conall Jones against Enniskillen in the league decider and it’s unclear whether those three will return for the championship.

Speaking on the defeat to Enniskillen, McGullion said: “Yeah, it was disappointing not to come out on the right side of it, as it was a game we definitely could have won.

"We done a lot of things well, but it identified areas we need to work on as a group if we want to give the championship a good rattle.”

Ederney are the only team to have beaten Derrygonnelly this year, aside from the Gaels, with Simon Bradley’s side getting the better of them in their initial league encounter and the league final.

“The league campaign was good overall, anytime you reach a league final it’s been a good campaign.

"We used a large amount of players throughout the league and put in some good performances and some performances we will be disappointed with where our work rate wasn’t where it should be and we weren’t clinical enough in front of goal.”

Managers Paul Greene and Sean Flanagan will be attempting to deliver an eighth Senior Championship since 2015 to the club.

McGullion added that despite so much success since entering the fold as a teenager, it's competition for places that keeps Derrygonnelly pushing for more: “We have been very lucky as a group to have had such success with Derrygonnelly, but there is always younger players coming through that really push the thing on and keep you motivated.

"The challenge every year keeps changing playing different oppositions and therefore the task ahead is never the same which makes each year unique.

"The group is very determined to hold on to the senior championship but it’s not going to be an easy task, there is a lot of top-quality teams in contention for it and we will have to put together some good performances in order to put ourselves in contention.

"But it’s great to be back playing championship football, it’s the time of year you look forward to most as a player competing against the best.”