Derry manager Meenagh already focussing in on Antrim

Despite a fifth league win of the league campaign, Derry manager Ciarán Meenagh was well aware that promotion hopes had flickered out as word quickly filtered to Celtic Park that the outcome in Omagh was an unfavourable one.

“Look it’s mixed emotions,” he flatly said. “The overriding emotion is disappointment. In the short-term, in terms of winning the game, that’s grand but we left ourselves in a hole after last week (against Louth). Things had to go our way in a couple of games but that didn’t work out.

“It’s disappointing not to get promoted but we’ll have to take a look at the bigger picture as well and build on the positives and get ourselves ready for the Ulster Championship. We were playing a team that was fighting for their lives.

“I suppose it was out of our control,” he continued. “Things had to go our way elsewhere in a couple of games but that didn’t work out.”

A little dejected, however, Meenagh cast his eye over a creditable league campaign. “The perspective of some of our performances,” he explained, “particularly after losing the first game against Meath, I thought was really positive.

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“I think about our performance particularly against Tyrone here. It was backs against the wall that night. I think our performance from half-time in Kildare was very satisfying. I think about the performance against Offaly and particularly against Cork.”

The Derry boss summed up the feelings of all Derry fans saying: “It’s disappointing not to be going to a league final next week and it’s disappointing not to be playing Division One football next year.

“If you end up building things from here,” he acknowledged a little defiantly, “today will long enough be forgotten about. You don’t get to high with the highs and too low with the lows.”

It’s rare that a team who finishes on 10 points and has not been promoted. Derry have now, unfortunately, done that three times but Meenagh batted away any suggestion that Derry were unlucky.

“You make your luck,” he stated very matter of factly. “It was in our own hands after the Cork game. But the fact that it was out of our control today. And when you are in that way you don’t deserve to be promoted.

“It’s a working process,” he continued, “and the next couple of months will inform us of where we are and what our potential is.”

The Derry manager emphasised the importance of getting all his elite players back playing, of blooding talented young prospects and building a squad for bigger days ahead on the near horizon.

“We have to get our best team on the pitch,” Meenagh explained. “We have to get our best players fit. Get a bank of training into players. We’ve got a number of weeks now to get lads to compete for positions.

“I look at the likes of Ruairi Forbes, Sean Young, Matthew Downey and these lads have all played a lot of football. And Dan Higgins. They wouldn’t have played as much football last year.

“If you look at all those lads and those that are coming back that’s a fairly strong panel. And there’s a number of Under 20s with the potential to make an impact.”

Meenagh concluded by emphasising that all eyes and energy now lasers in on the first round of the Ulster Championship on 18 April.

“Our focus now is Antrim. Antrim have won four or five in a row now and came very close to being promoted and we’ll give them the upmost respect by respecting our own preparation.”