Rory Gallagher admits Fermanagh have a long way to go before they can compete at the highest level.

He was speaking after a successful first year at the helm, which yielded promotion from Division 3 of the Allianz League and a first Ulster SFC final appearance in a decade, ended with a 0-18 to 3-20 defeat to Kildare in Navan on Saturday evening.

"At the start of the year, we just said we'll go in here and we'll work really, really hard," the Erne County boss told the Irish News.

"We wanted to get promotion from Division 3 and we got that. We want to win a championship match because some of the boys had only beaten Antrim, who'd be ranked below them in Ulster in the last six years, and we did that.

"But we found out there's a big gap in everything we're doing between ourselves and Donegal, and ourselves and Kildare. There's a huge amount to do.

"That Kildare team is moulded for a number of years. Physically, they're very well developed. Skill-wise they're very, very good and tactically they're strong as well. Likewise with Donegal. Both days we struggled on the opposition kick-out.

"We've just got to improve in those areas."

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