Eoghan Campbell says that Antrim are targeting a Leinster final spot as they get their Championship campaign underway this weekend.
Along with Galway, the Saffrons first entered the Leinster Championship in 2009 though victories have been scarce and they haven’t been ever-present in the competition having dropped to the Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cups at different stages.
This is their second successive season back in the top tier and having avoided relegation last year by drawing with Dublin and beating Westmeath, Campbell feels they can kick on, particularly with a number of players having rejoined the panel of late.
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He said: "There's no point in going out onto a pitch and thinking that you're going to get beaten. If you're thinking that, you're already beaten.
“I know that's the way I've always looked at it. Every game is a target for us and the target is to get into that Leinster final. That's what we want.
“And if we can't get that, the next-best thing is the third-place finish. Over the last couple of years we've been close to Dublin, close to Wexford, we've run Kilkenny tight in the League a few times and obviously there's been a bit of a gap to Galway.
“But we do see it that we can win every game we play. That's the way we're going to be approaching it.
“Obviously outside the camp, ourselves and Carlow in the last game will be seen as do-or-die. But that's not the way we see it and it's probably not the way Carlow see it.
“You're not just going in to make up the numbers. We definitely think it can open up massively for us if we can get a win early on.
“It doesn't take much to get there with other results so it's definitely something we can target."
Getting points on the board early will be a tall order, however, as Antrim have a trip to face four-in-a-row Leinster champions Kilkenny on Sunday.
"Absolutely,” Campbell acknowledged. “But the first day out in the Leinster Championship, down in Nowlan Park, it's a great opportunity for everyone to go down and show where we are and where we want to be by proving yourself against one of the best.
“It's something we've been massively looking forward to for the last few weeks. It's a great opportunity for everyone in the panel to try and get a jersey and go down and prove that we're more than capable of mixing it with anyone.”
Manager Darren Gleeson received a boost last month as Dunloy quartet Keelan Molloy, Seaan, Nigel and Ryan Elliott returned to the panel after initially stepping back for this year, while a number of injury problems have cleared up.
Campbell said: “We sort of regrouped after the league and training has been fantastic. We brought in some of the under-20s and a few of the Dunloy boys are back in as well, so the numbers are back up and we're able to sort of get out on the pitch and play games.
“There's just been a completely different vibe around the camp and we're looking forward to the Leinster Championship now."
One void that won’t be so easily filled is that left by Neil McManus, the team’s long-time talisman who retired at 35 last year.
"Neil has been a massive miss,” Campbell admitted. “Obviously he's been leading the line for us for the last 10 years. Probably over the last two or three years we've been looking to spread out our leaders and the scorers in the team.
“There were times when Antrim were reliant on Neil and if he didn't have a good game or score that much, Antrim just didn't win. That's the way it was.
“But that hasn't happened in the last two or three years. Other forwards have been picking up the slack and they've stood up to be counted.
“In terms of Neil's experience, his know-how and his leadership skills, that's probably going to take a bit longer to replace and there are boys within the team who are stepping up and filling that role.
“But a man of Neil's calibre, who would probably have started on any county team in Ireland, is always going to be hard to replace. He's off enjoying the club season for Cushendall now so he'll be happy enough.”
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