DOWN ace Conor Maginn says the criticism the Mournemen endured over the last couple of seasons had a “galvanising effect” on the players after they provided the shock of the Championship by knocking Monaghan out of Ulster to set up a final meeting with Tyrone on July 16.
Maginn, who was part of the 2010 All-Ireland final team that lost to Cork, revealed the players were stung by the negativity that surrounded them.
“Everybody, absolutely everybody, had written us off – we were gone from Division Two, there was no hope for Down this year and people saw us as a bit of a joke but it definitely brought us all together,” said the 29-year-old centre-forward.
“The team and management said: ‘The only ones that can turn this around is ourselves’.
“We put a wee bit of form together at the end of the League and we got a bit of luck and stayed up. Our preparations were good and coming in under the radar maybe suits us.”
Maginn highlighted Down’s Division Two win over Derry as the turning point of their season.
A last-gasp equaliser against Cork on the final day of the League season was enough to keep the Mournemen in Division Two before they took the scalp of Armagh in the Ulster Championship to set up a semi-final clash with Monaghan.
“It’s definitely been disappointing the last few years but, whatever it is, we always believe we’ll get to an Ulster final but it hasn’t happened.”
Down’s last appearance in a provincial decider came in 2012 when they lost to eventual All-Ireland champions Donegal.
“There’s a great camaraderie around the squad this year, maybe the run of losses bonded us, and it got better when we started getting over the line.
“I suppose the Derry game was important because that’s when we finally put a performance together and since then we’ve gradually got better. There’s more confidence and more bite in training. The negativity that was coming on top of us definitely had a galvanising effect on us, but the Derry match was the turning point.
“Going into the Monaghan match, I honestly have to say we were confident. Obviously Monaghan are in the top five or six teams in the country and it was a massive challenge but we knew things were coming together well and we had a bit of confidence about ourselves.”
Maginn added: “While the last few years haven’t been good we still hold ourselves in high esteem. We knew our players were as good as anyone and while we haven’t always shown it, just look at the boys we’re bringing on – Mark Poland, Donal O’Hare, David McKibbin – they’re coming on and winning us matches.”
Maginn joined the Down senior panel in 2009 – Ross Carr’s last year in charge – and was a key player during James McCartan’s successful reign.
And judging by last Saturday night’s display, the Bryansford clubman has lost none of his appetite for hard graft.
“We’ve been training for these days,” he said.
“We’re definitely going to enjoy it and now we’ve to take on Tyrone who are All-Ireland contenders. They were very impressive against Donegal. We’ll analyse them a bit deeper - but, on the surface, they’re an incredible team and Mickey Harte has them churning it out every year.
“Everybody knows it’s a massive challenge but this is what we’ve been playing for.”
