Barry O'Hagan well aware of threat posed by St Eunan's

Based in Newtowncunningham, O’Hagan is well aware of the threat posed by the Donegal champions, who face the Fermanagh winners on Sunday week.

St Eunan’s boss Kieran Donnelly also knows the Erne Gaels set-up well, having worked with a number of their players during his time with the Fermanagh county team.

O’Hagan has plenty of respect for the challenge ahead.

“They are a really outstanding team,” he told the Democrat.

“Eunan’s, and I have said it for the past three or four years, are one of the best club teams in Ulster.

“The problem was they never got out of Donegal.

“Every time they do get out, they should have beaten Errigal Ciaran, they should have beaten Glen, so they have loads of experienced quality.

“We know the challenge we face in a fortnight.”

However, O’Hagan is confident his own side can make its mark at Brewster Park.

“But we believe that if we bring the best version of ourselves in Brewster Park, we are a match for anyone.

“The lads enjoy playing here and the lads can open up and we have very good scoring power.”

The Erne Gaels manager knows his side will need to cut out mistakes if they are to trouble St Eunan’s.

“We know that sloppy play at the far end of the field could be fatal against a very good Eunan’s side.

“We can’t be doing that against Eunan’s considering the power and pace they possess.”

O’Hagan said his players would enjoy the immediate celebrations before returning to preparations for the Ulster clash.

“We want to be at our best in a fortnight.”

Asked where the main danger lies in the St Eunan’s attack, O’Hagan pointed to the strength of their options across the field.

“They have threats everywhere.

“They have Shane O’Donnell and Niall O’Donnell and Eoin McGeehin inside with Kieran Tobin a power pacey player and then you have Shaun Patton’s phenomenal kick-outs as well.”

He also highlighted the influence of Conor O’Donnell Snr and the scoring threat posed by Conor O’Donnell.

“Conor O’Donnell Snr is a great leader from centre back and Conor O’Donnell is a big scoring threat up front.

“We have fires to put out all over the field.

“But we don’t focus on the opposition-we concentrate on ourselves and getting better.

“We want to be the best we can be defending or attacking.”

Despite the respect he has for St Eunan’s, O’Hagan has no doubts about his side's ability to cause an upset.

“Of course we can.

“We are looking no further than two weeks and of course we can beat them, or we would not be putting such an effort in.

“But we need to bring the very best version of ourselves to do that.”