Egan highlights need for intermediate ladies to ‘push on’

New Roscommon intermediate ladies’ football manager, Finbar Egan, believes that his side can maintain their position in an ultra-competitive Division Two this season.

The Summerhill native will take charge of his first competitive game when Monaghan are the visitors to Johnstown on Sunday next (throw-in at 2 p.m.), where he will be looking to use his considerable experience to give Roscommon the extra few per cent to help them enjoy a prosperous summer.

“I thought Roscommon were very unlucky in several games last year, even in the two matches they played against Leitrim in the Connacht final and the All-Ireland quarter-final. I am looking to help them to push on and earn a bit more luck. We would look to consolidate our position in the league,” he told the Roscommon Herald.

From the outside looking in, the hammer blow of losing Jenny Higgins to her second cruciate injury, alongside seeing Kate Nolan and Aisling Feely miss out with their own long-term injuries, won’t make Roscommon’s survival bid any easier in a division that contains last year’s All-Ireland finalists Galway, while former ladies’ champions, Cork, will also be among the team’s opponents over the coming months.

The summer will tell the tale of Roscommon’s success, or lack of it, in 2025 but survival in Division Two would be a huge fillip.

Egan is impressed with the quality in his squad, although he notes a cautionary tale that even though Roscommon lost to eventual All-Ireland champions Leitrim by just two points in their All-Ireland intermediate quarter-final last year, they are by no means guaranteed a prosperous season.

“There are good players in Roscommon but we need to start showing it at county level and push on. Just because Leitrim won it doesn’t mean we are going to win it. 

"There is a huge difference between losing by two points and winning by one point. It’s a million miles apart. Leitrim are All-Ireland champions, we aren’t.

“There are a lot of good teams in intermediate football, so we are looking to be competitive and get up to where we need to be. You have got no Connacht championship this year with Leitrim gone. It will make things a little tricker, but we have to work hard now. So far, that hasn’t been an issue,” he pointed out.

The former All-Ireland winning manager with Mayo knows the importance of Sunday’s opening game with Monaghan. With Roscommon also enjoying home comforts in their second game against Clare, who were also promoted from Division Three last year, Egan is aware of the need for a strong start to 2025.

He hopes that supporters of Roscommon LGFA make their presence felt even though the game clashes directly with the men’s opening Division Two League game against Down at Dr. Hyde Park.

“The support is vital. Roscommon have always supported their teams well. They have supported the ladies’ team nearly as well as the men’s team. We are down in Cork for a triple header with the men, which will give people a chance to see our team play. The four home games we have are vital. We need to win as many of them as possible.

“Every team will be thinking the same as we are. Start with the first one and take it from there. If you get a good start you are looking up and not down, so that is what we are hoping for this year,” the former All-Ireland winning manager noted.

Despite the daunting prospect of facing four senior teams in the league, Egan is satisfied that his side, particularly the younger players, can gain from the exposure to the higher altitude that the top teams operate in.

“We have played challenge matches against Mayo and Meath twice. You have to be looking to play top quality teams. You learn more from a team beating you rather than going out and beating a side by 20 points and thinking you’re great. You find your weaknesses quicker. We have been competitive in those (challenge) matches and we are pushing on.

“We have to expose girls to that standard of football. Playing teams that are higher than us at the moment is how you get there. You have to test yourself against better teams. Playing the likes of Cork, Galway, Donegal and Tipperary are great tests. You have to play them because you won’t move up otherwise.” Egan admits that championship is the ultimate prize, but he hopes to build a solid foundation, starting in Johnstown this Sunday.

“We are all in it to try and win it. Everyone is out to win intermediate and go up to senior. Whether we are good enough to do that, we will find out as the year goes on. The league plays an important role in that because you don’t want to go into that having lost all your league matches and be relegated.

“As the year goes on, I would expect us to get better as we will be playing together more. For the girls we are focusing on the first match, and we are going to take it from there,” he concluded.