MONAGHAN native Dougie Corbett has been tasked with managing Urney for the forthcoming season, and he admits it’s a help that he’s already acquainted with some of the players through his line of work.

A solider based in Finner Camp near Ballyshannon in Donegal, he counts among his colleagues a number of Urney players, so he says he already has an affinity with the Clady-based club.

Corbett, who has managed Donegal clubs Naomh Colmcille and Naomh Brid in the last few seasons, says that has  made things a little bit easier for him with collective training barred at the moment.

“We have no choice but to wait and see what happens with Covid, so it’s tricky alright for a new manager.

“The plus side from my perspective is that I’ve had an affinity with Urney for years now because I know a few of them through the army – the likes of Fergal McNulty, Ronan Rafferty and Chris Bogle. It’s a wee help but looking at the results last year it’ll take a bit of work.

“I’ve been to a good number of their matches and played challenges against them when I was over other clubs that I’ve managed, so I do know their more experienced players well.”

Urney have fallen down the pecking order in recent seasons. They were doing well last year until they met eventual winners Kildress in the quarter-finals of the Junior Championship, losing  5-22 to 1-8.

Corbett knows that they have to the potential to do much better than that, but it’ll be a matter of taking baby steps at first, even if they played in Division One as recently as 2017.

“We’ll be obviously looking to improve on last year’s championship performances. I was at an Urney game a few years ago where they drew against Dungannon. Dungannon won last year’s  Senior Championship whereas Urney got beat by 27 points, and I don’t think the gap is quite that wide. With a bit of work we’re hoping to progress the team so that they can be competitive in every game whether it’s league or championship. There are  some young players coming through the ranks and we  want to see if they’re up to the job, but it’s hard to judge at the moment without seeing them in training.”

Corbett says a few important players who were unavailable in 2020 should be available this year, like Fergal McNulty and Jamie McAleer. He also admits that the prospect of managing a Tyrone club is something that enticed him to the job.

“I went to a few of the Tyrone matches last year and that was a big pull, to get into Tyrone football. The championship was so exciting and end-to-end last year with so many games going to penalties and extra-time. That was something that obviously appealed.”

Corbett’s pre-season plans were waylaid by the latest lockdown rules, but he says his players will be embarking on individual programmes from the start of February.

“I was appointed around the end of October, start of November, and I’d planned for a ‘sevens’ competition for December 27, and a fitness test for the first week of January. That was all  knocked on its head, so that means I haven’t really been able to judge the lads’ fitness levels.

“I’m in the process now of starting up individual programmes for the players from the start of February, so we’ll take it from there.”

While Urney narrowly missed out on a place in the Division Three final last year, they’re lucky that all their league matches in their respective group have been completed. The Tyrone CCC is intending on concluding all remaining fixtures, and Corbett hopes that words will turn into action.

“I’ve had a look at the plans – the CCC say they’re going to play the outstanding games and I suppose that’s only fair. If you’re one of the clubs on the verge of achieving promotion you wouldn’t want to see your season ended like that.”

Corbett also says that his backroom team will play a significant role in his efforts to rejuvenate Urney’s fortunes after a couple of years in the doldrums.

“I’ve a brilliant backroom team in with me. Reggie Porter’s a local man who keeps me well-informed, Anthony Bogle’s so positive about everything and Brian McMonagle’s a Derry man who lives in Letterkenny, the two of us were at Naomh Brid before, he’s a very shrewd man.”