Sport

Derry in a 'better place' says manager Damian Barton

<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">Derry have lost four times to Tyrone since December, but will be determined to win the one that really matters in the Ulster Championship this Sunday</span>&nbsp;
Derry have lost four times to Tyrone since December, but will be determined to win the one that really matters in the Ulster Championship this Sunday  Derry have lost four times to Tyrone since December, but will be determined to win the one that really matters in the Ulster Championship this Sunday 

Ulster Senior Football Championship

DERRY boss Damian Barton believes the Oak Leafs are in a “better place” after a topsy-turvy league campaign - and insists his men are ready for Sunday’s clash with Ulster Championship favourites Tyrone at Celtic Park.

After a strong start in Division Two, Derry’s campaign ended with high-scoring draws against Leinster pair Laois and Meath and defeat on the last day against Armagh as they avoided the threat of relegation to football’s third-tier. They also shipped a heavy defeat to Sunday’s opponents at Healy Park back in March - a fourth reversal against the Red Hands in the space of four months.

Barton says that, while those encounters are now irrelevant, lessons have been learned: “This is new to us, so we've had to reflect on every game,” said the 1993 All-Ireland winner.

“We had an average league campaign, which is reflective in the fact we averaged 2-12 for and conceded 0-18 against. So it averages itself out. But we've had to reassess in terms of personnel, in terms of game-plan. We were scoring a lot at one end and not doing so well at the other. So we were not looking so much at Tyrone, we looked at ourselves and I think we're in a better place now than we were a few months ago. When you're in and around a team, you can sense that. Have we learned from some of the experiences? Probably.

“We have used a lot of players - we're a team in transition. We have lost a few leaders, players of great experience, but the boys have coped with that fairly well. I suppose, now, we are microscopically looking at Tyrone and it's a game we are looking forward to.”

Barton and his assistants Tony Scullion and Brian McGuckin watched with interest as Tyrone got the better of Cavan in last month’s Division Two final and, afterwards, Breffni boss Terry Hyland admitted the Red Hands were a few years ahead of Cavan in terms of implementing their counter-attacking style.

Barton was coy when asked if he saw any chinks in the Tyrone armour at Croke Park - “I saw a great folk group at half-time” - but devising a plan to get the better of a county whose players are so well-versed in playing a certain style is no laughing matter.

He said: “It was very interesting. Because we were looking at it more aerially, the view was a bit skewed compared to TV, but it was a good contest.

“An awful lot has been said about defensive set-up and you saw in the league final, you had two very defensive players - [Justin] McMahon and [Colm] Cavanagh - and if they’re sitting on the 30 and everybody else is filtering back… the work of McAliskey was incredible, to me he was man of the match. Sean Cavanagh was back defending as well.

“They’re a classic counter-attacking side and what they have is pace and athleticism. If you’re talking about development because they’ve had success at minor level and U21 level, they probably have developed athletes. You can see that in some of their players, even the younger players who have come in.

“They play, dare I say, off the cuff, a certain amount of unpredictability - it’s all about pace, about counter-attack, support, numbers back, numbers forward. It’s all about speed endurance as much as anything else.”