Good season? We still finished it with no medals to collect, says Monaghan’s Wylie

Monaghan might have reached a first All-Ireland semi-final in 30 years last summer, but the disappointment of not winning a trophy has brought Drew Wylie back for a new season hungrier than ever.

Two final appearances eluded Monaghan in 2018 by the narrowest of margins.

An added-time goal by Fermanagh snatched away an Ulster final and after rebuilding through the qualifiers and making it to the inaugural Super 8s, they came up a point short against Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final.

“Everyone seems to think it was such a good year for Monaghan and in a sense, it was because we got to a place none of us had been to before in an All-Ireland semi-final,” says Wylie.

“But in reality, we had no silverware, nothing to go to a dinner dance with and no medals to pick up.

“Yes, we were playing at a competitive level and we do feel we belong at the top and have earned our place there, but we fell short the last couple of years.

“Down have beaten us in Ulster, Fermanagh have beaten us. The Tyrone game, we were a point away from drawing an All-Ireland semi-final and we felt we didn’t play as well as we could.

There’s no guarantee we’ll be in that position again, but we have to put ourselves in the frame of mind that we are going to be in that position come the end of July, start of August.

Malachy O’Rourke has often praised his squad for their work-ethic and commitment and while his excellent managerial track record speaks for itself, a lot of it is self-driven.

When they exited the Ulster SFC last year, the players met to re-evaluate their season.

“It’s important to meet together and say ‘what do we want out of this?’ There’s no point just going to training and go through the motions,” Wylie added.

“We’ve been playing Division One football for the last four or five years so we have a good panel there.

"There are lads who have played a lot of football but you look at them and they’re hungry for more.

“Even myself, I have that self-motivation and a lot of players in the squad have that and they don’t need Malachy coming in to start rounding them up.

That’s the beauty about this squad. It’s strong and we want more.

Monaghan face St Mary’s University at Clones on Sunday in their second McKenna Cup game of the season.