The GAA Social: I'd be rated higher if I was in a Derry or Tyrone jersey - Fermanagh's Sean Quigley

Fermanagh forward Quigley believes modern inter-county players don't take risks on the ball for fear of being pulled up about it during analysis sessions at training

After 12 years on the inter-county scene, Fermanagh's Sean Quigley has developed a clear-eyed and unvarnished view of the modern game.

Over the last decade or so, he has been a talisman for his county. He was a key part of the 2018 squad that reached the Ulster final and finished top scorer in the All-Ireland series in 2015 when the Ernemen strode through the qualifiers before losing to Dublin in the quarter-finals.

He hasn't always been there. In 2020, he stepped away from county football, but returned in time for the following season.

The free-spirited Quigley has always enjoyed the uninhibited side of playing football.

Ideas come to him and he tries them. As he says, he likes to do things "off the cuff". The strictly regimented, risk-averse style that is part and parcel with the modern game isn't really for him.

"Maybe that's why I'm not starting on county teams at the minute," the Roslea Shamrocks club-man, who was mainly used as a substitute in Fermanagh's recent Division Three campaign, tells The GAA Social.

"I love playing football. If Roslea were playing tonight in a challenge game I'd play in it, if I was allowed."

• Listen to Sean Quigley on The GAA Social

For Quigley, the prerequisites for a player to flourish at inter-county level have changed. He feels that, whereas skill and technical ability were once valued above all else, these days there is a particular emphasis on fitness and a capacity to follow precise tactical instructions.

"Talking about robotic, I like to play football and do things off the cuff. You make mistakes," he continues.

"Games now, boys are nearly afraid of doing something they know has a chance of failing. They won't do it because they know it has a chance of showing up on the screen on Tuesday night at training.

"The players have all the stats now. They might have 50 possessions, 35 hand passes and went nowhere with the ball and didn't really contribute to the outcome of the game.

"County players now, it's about doing a job. The template of a county footballer now is something that I think any average player could get on a county team now if they got themselves into really good shape and did what they were told to do.

"Years ago you were on a county team because you had talent, you were the best player in your club. I'm not saying county players are bad footballers but you can become a county player without having that much real talent and ability."

And what about his talent and ability? Does he feel as though he gets enough recognition?

"With being from Fermanagh and talked about as a prominent forward for Fermanagh the last 10 years, I don't know if they rate me as a footballer.

"But they know I'm probably the most potent attacker that Fermanagh have so they're going to have to...I would think if I was wearing a Tyrone jersey or a Derry jersey, they might rate me a bit higher than if I was playing for Fermanagh."

'Sub role a dent to my ego'

Fermanagh head into the championship in buoyant form after earning promotion back to Division Two.

But while such an achievement has certainly lifted the mood in the county, Quigley admits he is still grappling with his own role in the team having been mainly used off the bench by Erne boss Kieran Donnelly during the recent league campaign.

"I definitely wouldn't be accepting of it," admits 30-year-old Quigley, who conceded he has not been starting as much because the younger players in the set-up are "younger, fitter, faster than me".

"The day you accept sitting on the bench is the day I'll not be there."

When asked by GAA Social presenter Thomas Niblock if he had "thrown the head up" at not starting, Quigley said: "Probably a bit. I'd say it was a dent to my ego.

"You don't think you have an ego until you get hit in it."

Quigley has built up a wealth of championship experience with Fermanagh over the years and the next chapter sees him come up against Erne native Rory Gallagher, who led the county to the Ulster decider in 2018.

Gallagher has since turned Derry into a force, guiding the Oak Leafers back to the Ulster summit last summer, and his return to Brewster Park on Saturday is an intriguing sub-plot as the counties meet in the provincial arena for the first time since 2011.

Belleek-born Rory Gallagher led Fermanagh to the Ulster final in 2018 before taking the Derry job the following year

Quigley says he has "huge respect" for Gallagher as a person and coach, but when asked if it "feels funny" coming up against a Fermanagh person presiding over another team, he said: "With regards to Rory, he's been away from Fermanagh for a long time.

"I don't know if he'd even claim to be a Fermanagh person. You never hear him saying 'I'm from Fermanagh'."

After Thomas Niblock interjected to say you would hear Gallagher say that, Quigley said: "I don't think he would. He's got away from it, but I suppose the one thing about him is he has a job to do and he knows that.

"When he went to Derry, it was a big blow to us. I had an inkling that he wasn't going to hang about anyway, but for what he did with us in Fermanagh, he took us to an Ulster final.

"We didn't turn up. We were on the brink of Division One football. Armagh beat us up in Cross, kind of knocked the stuffing out of us, but for us to be there, he was an unbelievable coach and unbelievable football man."