Coggins: London will build on win
Manager Paul Coggins is convinced that London's long-awaited Championship win over Fermanagh on Saturday will not be a flash in the pan.
Ruislip was enlivened by the Exiles' first SFC victory in 34 years, the joy and sense of achievement so obvious for Coggins and his players in the immediate aftermath.
"We've worked so hard to achieve this. They're a great bunch of players and they've put everything into it," explained Coggins, who was appointed late last year.
"The work was put in and the performance was immense. The players have bought into everything we've asked them to.
“But the lads aren't finished yet. We're looking forward to the season continuing for another while. We're not going to stop here. We've got to keep improving."
Key to Saturday's success was a positive first half display during which they outscored the Ernesiders by eight points, with a stiff wind behind them.
The visitors cut the gap to 0-12 to 0-8 with John O'Flanaghan chipping in with five points, but late scores from Ciaran McCallion, Killian Phair and Cathal O'Sullivan settled the issue.
Coggins, who hails from Granlahan in Roscommon, moved to London in 1988 and played with the Desmonds club initially before spells with Clann na Gael and Brian Boru. He lined out for London during the 1990s and his managerial CV includes four senior titles with Tir Chonaill Gaels.
An influx of new players has strengthened the London panel in Coggins' first year in charge. The recession has played its part and in London's narrow defeat to Mayo recently there were four Mayo men playing against their home county - Tony Gaughan, Sean Kelly, John Scanlon and Noel Tuohy.
Captain Sean McVeigh and Barry Comer are two of the stalwarts of the team, Galway's Paul Geraghty has been influential in both Championship games so far and the full-forward line of Kevin O'Leary, Padraig McGoldrick and Eoin O'Neill scored 0-8 between them against Fermanagh.
Yesterday's draw for the second round qualifiers handed London a home match against Waterford, a side they will be competing with in Division 4 of the Allianz League next year.
Coggins and his selectors Tony Murphy, Aiden Thompson and Tony Griffin will be licking their lips at the prospect of their third Championship match at Ruislip this summer.
Heady times for the London footballers who have benefited from the good work done by team trainer Kevin Downes.
"We have a very good panel of players who have worked extremely hard on their fitness. That's the first thing I would concentrate on because our fitness is really at a high level," added Coggins.
"But it's also down to attitude and work-rate. All those things together brought us the big performance (against Fermanagh)."
