ONE win – that’s what Carbery Rangers want.

Without a group-stage victory in the county championship since August 2022, there was an inevitability to their relegation from the premier senior grade last year.

After 20 seasons in Cork’s top tier, Rangers begin life in senior A this weekend.

It represents a fresh start. But it also brings new pressure.

‘There’s definitely an opportunity for us, but there’s also a target on our backs now. We have to embrace that,’ Rangers manager Robbie Ahern says.

‘There has been a lot of talk about results over the last few years, but last year we were very unlucky in our first two championship games against Carrigaline and the Barrs.

‘Then we had one poor performance against Clon, and we were in the relegation play-off.

‘We do need a championship win and hopefully this can be a springboard to get us back up, but at the same time teams will really target us because we’ve come down. It’s a double-edged sword.

‘We’re just focused on the first game. Win that and then move on from there.’

Rangers’ recent championship record at premier senior level isn’t pleasant reading for the club, but it offers context as to why they are now in senior A. Between 2023 and ’25, in nine round-robin games, they didn’t win any, drew three and lost six. Ross survived a relegation play-off against Éire Óg in 2024, before slipping through the trapdoor last year.

But that’s in the past now.

Rangers are determined to stop the slide, and start pushing forward again.

There is genuine reason for optimism. Ahern’s team finished fourth in Division 1 of the county league. The club’s second team won the Division 7 league final. Ross dethroned Ibane Gaels in the Carbery U21A football championship. The minor footballers defeated Owen Gaels in the Rebel Óg West championship.

Carbery Rangers' manager Robbie Ahern. (Photo: Paddy Feen)

‘The future is bright,’ Aherne insists.

‘This senior team has reached the stage now where a certain group of players has hit the right age. They were good minors and good U21s, but it takes a few years to bed into senior football.

‘That’s what’s happened now and we’re really seeing the benefit of it.’

He points to Barry Kerr as one example.

‘Barry was out all last year and he’s come back and made a huge impact,’ Ahern says.

‘He’s someone we really missed. He’s a warrior you’d go to battle with any day, and I think all the lads appreciate having him back.'

Darragh Hayes and Paul Hodnett have plenty of championship experience under their belt. Peadar O’Rourke, Kealan Scannell, Conor Twomey and Ciarán Santry have all played underage with Cork in recent seasons, too.

‘There are plenty of footballers there and they are really starting to come through,’ he says.

‘There are fellas behind them too who maybe weren’t the big names underage, but they’re pushing hard.’

Ahern knows it’s a results business, and how Rangers fare in the senior A group against Cill na Martra, O’Donovan Rossa and Newmarket will determine the success of his first season in charge. But he’s pleased with the journey so far, particularly the style of football they are playing.

'We’re very much on the front foot. It’s not the only way to play football, but when you have the type of players we have, you have to make the most of them,’ he explains.

‘You have to get your defence right, of course, but we’re an attacking team. There’s no doubt about that. We want to kick the ball and move it quickly through the lines.

'We think our squad is deep enough and strong enough to play that style, so we’re very happy with how things are going.'

‘It’s enjoyable football and I think people are enjoying it. The players certainly are.

‘I’ve been involved with Ross for the last couple of years and we weren’t saying anything much different. Maybe it’s just that the lads are getting a bit older. It was a very young group and now they're at an age where they’re willing to take that chance a bit more.

‘We’ve had a good league campaign, we’re happy with how we’re playing, so long may it continue.’

It’s Cill na Martra first up on Sunday evening in Dunmanway (7.15pm). The Muskerry men contested last season’s senior A final. It’s as tough a game for Rangers to open their senior A campaign with. But Rangers are ready, as is Ahern who is enjoying his maiden season in charge.

‘The first six to eight weeks were a real eye-opener, but it's not too bad now!’ he smiles.

‘Look, it’s a pleasure and an honour. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so when the opportunity came about this year, I was delighted to take it.’

A Carbery Rangers man, he knows the club inside-out. He was a selector from 2014 to 2016, the latter the magical year Ross won their first and only county senior title. A few years later, he was involved as a coach with Dohenys footballers, and that whetted his appetite.

‘I ended up there for three years and really enjoyed that. It was probably the first time I moved into more of a coaching role rather than being a selector,’ he explains.

‘Then I came back to Ross. The last couple of years maybe didn’t go the way we’d have liked, but there were still plenty of enjoyable moments. Becoming manager felt like the next logical step, and I’m relishing it. I'm really enjoying the role.’