ANTRIM defender Patrick Gallagher has targeted a quick return to Division Three this year and believes the experiences of last season will stand to the Saffrons.
Lenny Harbinson has ran the rule over the Antrim squad in this month’s Dr McKenna Cup with a host of excellent performances in different sectors of the field.
“There are some brilliant young players in the squad,” said Gallagher, who has resumed full-back duties from last season.
“You look at the players Frank [Fitzsimons] and Gearoid [Adams] blooded and the vast majority of them are backs and they’re going to be better again after having that year under their belts.
“Peter Healy was brilliant, Conor Hamill had a really good year, Ruairi McCann came in for the first time and they are solid county footballers now. They held their own in Division Three and hopefully they can do that in Division Four.
“Coming in and seeing the new set-up, I’d be definitely optimistic. Last season, we played Armagh on a Saturday night, 7,000 or 8,000 under lights, an Ulster derby; those are the games you want to be playing in.
“We’re a little bit disappointed we’re not getting that in 2018 but the team is young enough and hopefully we can get back up where we should be and beyond. There’s a Croke Park appearance if you get promoted. That was a big plus two years ago when we got promoted and played Louth at Croke Park. So there’s plenty of motivation there.”
Speaking prior to last night’s final group game against St Mary’s, Gallagher says the heavy defeat to Tyrone in their McKenna Cup opener was a great learning experience and will help Antrim prepare for Division Four.
“The Tyrone game was a tough one to start off the year, as you could very quickly see why they're currently top in Ulster and one of the top four sides in Ireland.
“Physically and tactically they're ahead of us at the minute but Lenny has emphasised the need to benchmark ourselves against the best and set targets to work towards.
“We know we won't be playing sides of that calibre in Division Four but you want to be getting back up to the level where you're playing those teams more regularly, so we just need to make sure we take some of the positives and learn from the negatives and use it to improve.”
Antrim recorded a fine two-point victory over Cavan last Sunday to give themselves a chance of a McKenna Cup semi-final berth.
“The Cavan game was a better performance, but there are still lots of room for improvement and you have to recognise that Cavan were missing a good few.
“But getting the win and a few well worked goals was good, and we could see some of the things we're working on coming together which helps everyone's morale.
“There's a good buzz around the team and serious competition for places now as well, so we're looking forward to the league starting.”
Asked whether he’s happy to be retained at full-back, Gallagher, who normally plays further out the field, replied: “As long as he puts me on the pitch. At the start of last year I didn’t like it but you take on the challenge, the challenge of marking someone. So I won’t be telling the manager where I want to play.”
