DOWN defender Darren O’Hagan admitted their 17-point defeat to Donegal last Saturday night was “hard to take” – but hoped the testing experiences of Division One will stand to them come the Ulster Championship.
The under-strength Mournemen endured a wretched night in Newry – managing just two points from play and shipping three second half goals.
Judging by their fixture list and scant resources, Down are odds-on for relegation after gaining promotion to the top flight last season.
“You can’t get much worse than a 17-point defeat. It’s hard to take,” said O’Hagan.
“Donegal were just a bit smarter than us. They’ve been in Division One longer and they played in a few Ulster finals and All-Ireland finals.
“It’s going to be a tough League for us but hopefully we’ll gain a lot of experience from it by playing the big teams. It’s where you want to be and you can only improve.”
O’Hagan was left exposed on Patrick McBrearty on several notable occasions on Saturday night, with the Donegal sharp-shooter hitting 1-1 from play.
McBrearty may have shown a ruthless streak in Donegal’s attack, but the Kilcar man had some encouraging words for O’Hagan afterwards.
“I was talking to Patrick McBrearty after the game and he said: ‘For all the medals I have, I’ve got plenty of heavy defeats too.’
“This happens in football. You get defeats like that but you have to learn from them.
“We’re a very young side, we’d four or five debutants out there. But I suppose it’s up to the likes of myself, Mark Poland, Kevin McKernan and Aidan Carr to bring them on and help them.
“Playing in Division One will only improve the young players. They’ll get to see what county football is like and what you have to do to get there.”
O’Hagan warned that Down fans can’t expect things to suddenly click into place given the managerial upheaval in the county and the lack of experience in the squad.
“It’s not just going to click overnight; we’re not going to be winning Championships. It takes time. You look at Donegal. In 2010, they got a heavy defeat.
“In 2011, they won an Ulster Championship. So you don’t know what’s around the corner.
“We’ve a lot of injuries. Ryan Johnston [dislocated shoulder] went off, Jerome Johnston’s not back yet, Conor Maginn and Paul Devlin weren’t playing. That’s four or five forwards, key players, and we were probably lacking a wee bit up front. Donegal set up so well and we didn’t know how to get past them.
“But those players should all be back in after the break and that should help us.”
Asked about Benny Coulter’s mooted return after a year out of the inter-county scene, O’Hagan insisted that was an issue strictly between the “management and the player”.
“I wouldn’t have a clue,” said the Clonduff clubman.
“Nobody knows. I know he’d work commitments in January. Whatever players are at training we’re just working with them, and that’s it, we’re trying to move forward.
“Our training has been as good as any other year. We’re probably doing the same as Donegal but they have that bit more experience and better players. They’re making the last eight over the last four or five years whereas Down’s not.”
The games don’t get any easier for Eamonn Burns’ side as they ready themselves for a trip to reigning Ulster champions Monaghan next weekend.
“It’s a massive game now,” said O’Hagan.
“We were probably looking at Donegal and Monaghan to try and take some points, so we have to be looking at the Monaghan game to get a performance out of it and show that we can do something in Ulster.
“We’re only coming into February and the Championship is a long way off. We face Monaghan in the Ulster Championship. We have to play the best teams to know how to beat the likes of Monaghan.”
