It fell to Ger Halligan to take charge of the Wexford football team following the traumatic departure of J J Barrett and the controversy surrounding the manner of his going.

To the credit of all concerned the boat was kept on an even keel, morale was protected and training continued as normal. Now Wexford are determined to end a barren fiveyear spell in championship football as they take on Longford in the Leinster championship in New Ross on Sunday.

There will be little new to either team as they line up for this match. They faced each other twice at the same stage last year and Halligan looks back on that experience without much pleasure. "We were up several points twice in the first match and allowed Longford back for a draw and then we were seven points up in the replay in Pearse Park but we lost by six. That was not good and it won't happen again.

"We made good progress under JJ Barrett. He did a huge amount for football in this county and we owe it to him to repay the debt. It is only five weeks since the aftermath of the match in Cavan when JJ resigned. The management and the players and the county board were all agreed that we could not let what we had achieved slip away. We knuckled down to it and the morale of the team never flagged in very difficult circumstances. We are proud of that.

"In fact, in a strange way it helped us and it will be a great spur for us on Sunday. We were unlucky in the league and we might have qualified for the play-offs. After losing to Sligo we had three wins on the trot against Waterford, Longford and Tipperary. Then we lost to Fermanagh and Cavan by a point on both occasions. It was very close.

"We decided not to waste the efforts that had been made and the players responded with a very good turn-out for training and the crowds stayed with us as well. We have a very loyal following and we hope to bring them some reward on Sunday," Halligan says.

He points out that, since the league effort, they have gone through a rigorous schedule of matches and won the Pikeman Trophy tournament by beating Wicklow. They also beat Waterford and played a number of matches against club teams so that the players are in really good shape and very anxious to end their poor championship run.

Halligan believes that the football structure in Wexford is in good shape. "We have 16 senior teams spread throughout the county and most of them are represented on the panel of players. The stronger teams are Fethard, the reigning champions, Kilinerin and Sarsfields from Wexford town.

He feels that there is no major clash between football and hurling. "There have been very few dual players in recent years. The situation is that players make up their own minds and opt for one or the other and there is no conflict." Halligan is a level-headed man and while his enthusiasm for the cause of Wexford football is palpable, it is clear that he has no illusions about the task ahead: "We know that Longford have a strong team after our experience of last year. They are in a very similar situation to ourselves and they have worked on their game as well."

Nevertheless, Halligan gives a very strong impression that this will be Wexford's year to make up for some of the recent disappointments.