Monaghan’s rebound has been so impressive

ALLIANZ FL DIVISION 2 FINAL:

Yet, tomorrow’s Division Two final between Monaghan and Donegal has its own attractions and, if most eyes will be on Jim McGuinness’ side, then their Ulster opponents make for an interesting case study in their own right.

Years of being there and thereabouts under Seamus McEneaney ultimately ended with no meaningful silverware and with an aging side sliding down two tiers to the third division. Their race looked run. The rebound has been impressive. Last year’s shock defeat of Donegal in the Ulster final was due deliverance for a squad and a county that had waited and waited since the heady days of the 1980s to boast credentials.

And yet there was a suggestion they could disappear again into the wilderness. That they had itched that scratch and the likes of Donegal and Tyrone they could return to the business of duking it out again.

The last few months have disproved that theory.

“There was a lot of talk (about that),” said Clontibret forward Conor McManus. “But the group of players we have are driven and ambitious. We weren’t just going to sit back and admire what we’d done last year.

“It’s all about driving on. You always want to win every game. We’re no different. This year we went out and wanted to consolidate our Division Two status. Once we’d done that, it was about driving on and getting promotion.”

This is their second step up the league ladder in successive seasons and their ongoing resurrection confirms the suspicion Ulster will be a bun fight this summer.

“I’d definitely go along with that. Any one of seven teams could go on and win the Ulster Championship this year. With Monaghan going on and winning it last year...

“I’m sure other teams will have looked at that and said ‘if they can do it, we can do it’. You have Cavan in the Division Three final, Monaghan and Donegal meeting in the Division Two final and Derry in the Division One. Ulster football is as strong as it’s been in a long, long time.”

Their history with Donegal has been good this last while, even aside from that Ulster final win last year, but McGuinness’s side had seven points to spare when the pair met in Letterkenny earlier in the campaign.

Silverware won’t be the focus tomorrow, but markers. A fascinating few months lay ahead up north.