By John Harrington

For 13 years, the Tyrone footballers were very happy to have Ryan ‘Ricey’ McMenamin in their corner.

He was their snarling dog on the porch, the sort of take-no-prisoners corner-back who made life hellish for the marquee forward on the opposition team.

A Tyrone-man to the bone, it’s taken a bit of getting used to seeing him now in the Fermanagh colours as part of manager Rory Gallagher’s coaching staff.

Some things don't change though - he’s still very much the same 100 per cent committed ‘Ricey’.

That much was obvious when Fermanagh played his Tyrone in the McKenna Cup earlier this year and McMenamin tore onto the pitch time and again to pass on messages to the Fermanagh players as he did all he could to plot the downfall of his native county. 

“I don’t think I was too bad,” says McMenamin with a smile. “I got a couple of Whatsapps from Niall Sludden afterwards right enough.

“He informed me that I didn't teach them to tackle very well! A bit of banter and that was it.

“There were a few pitch incursions but you were allowed on at a break of play. It was a bit of craic more than anything.

“I think people in Tyrone would respect I am doing a bit of coaching and maybe because Tyrone won, it made it easy for me personally.”

That wasn’t the only factor that made it an easy decision for him to agree to join Gallagher’s back-room team.

The Fermanagh border is only down the road from his house and he already had a good insight into the scene there.

Everything he knew about the county and their players convinced him it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.

“I live close enough to Fermanagh and had some good battles with them and would know a few boys,” said McMenamin.

“I was very happy for it, where training is in Lissan, it is only ten mile from my house, I am right on the border, so it wasn't difficult.

“I had to speak to Maura my wife and see if she gave me the ok. She says she didn't, but I kind of went on anyway. It was one of those things it was too good an opportunity.”

You can see why Fermanagh manager Rory Gallagher would like to have someone like McMenamin in his set-up.

Not only do they share a passion for football coaching, they’ve both always been the sort of competitive characters who detest losing.

“I probably would have clashed with him a lot of times,” says McMenamin of Gallagher.

“Especially when he was involved with Donegal in 2011, 2012, our paths would have crossed.

“As you might expect, when he gave me the call, you were pretty flattered that he did give you a call.

“I was curious. When any county manager looks and wants to come and ask you to coach for any team, you do have to go and see what would be involved.

“And lucky enough I had a chat with Rory about it. The two of us sat over a coffee and football-wise, we probably hit it off.

“Once we had that chat, I decided it was a risk worth taking.”

McMenamin wasn’t inclined to give away scores cheaply as a Tyrone player, and his fingerprints were all over Fermanagh’s performances in the regulation rounds of the Football League as they conceded an average of just 11 points over the course of their seven matches to secure promotion to Division Two.

But do yourself a favour and don’t accuse him and Gallagher of building a Fermanagh team that plays a defensive brand of football.

“We try to play attacking football, but everyone knows that Championships are won in defence as well and you only have to look at Dublin against Tyrone last year,” said McMenamin.

“The full-forward line were at their own 45, and they had fifteen behind the ball all the time.

“We are no different, Tyrone are no different, Armagh is no different. Everyone wants to win and sometimes you have to defend to win.”

“I think there is a lot of lazy analysis going on and it is easy…Pat Spillane could say something on the TV and you could get three or four journalists that think it is the Gospel.

“Everybody plays different, if everyone played the same way it would be boring enough to watch.

“For me personally, you have to cut your cloth. We have to be aware of what our strengths are, and what has been a strength of Fermanagh down through the years is that they are a hard-working team and they make life as difficult as possible for other teams.

“We are lucky this year, we have three or four good forwards, Seamie, Sean, Tomás, wee Danny Teague has come to the fore. If we can marry that good defence, and get a few more scores, then we won't be far away.”

Armagh are their opponents in tomorrow evening’s Ulster SFC Quarter-Final in Brewster Park. The same Armagh that narrowly beat them in the Division 3 Allianz Football League Final. 

His team might be underdogs, but McMenamin never lacked for confidence as a player and he’s doing his best to imbue the Fermanagh footballers with the same hard-nosed mentality.

“We have been telling them from day one that they are as good as players out there,” he said.

“It's just down to the boys believing. You see players like Decky McCusker, Rory would have told Decky from the start that he should be believing in himself more from the amount of work that he puts in, and Decky was one of the most outstanding players in Division Three. It's the same with Barry Mulrone.

“So I think we can build on the work that Pete (McGrath) has done and give more belief to them.

“But we will be judged on the Championship. Come the 19th of May, we will be judged on if we win or lose.”