SURVIVAL of the fittest? Derry manager Rory Gallagher spoke of the 'natural evolution' of his team; certainly their continued improvement is a fearsome prospect for the rest of Ireland.
The Oak Leafers is a pleasant, soft-sounding nickname, but Derry are currently red in tooth and claw.
They tore Kildare to shreds on their own Newbridge turf, winning by 14 points, a victory margin which would have been increased only for terrific goalkeeping from the hosts' Mark Donnellan.
Derry's work-rate throughout the team is tremendous, going from 15 behind the ball to plenty piling forward in the blink of an eye whenever and wherever they regain possession.
Defensively, Derry remain sound, holding Kildare to 0-7, just two of those points coming from play. They've conceded just 2-29 (35) across four matches, an average of 8.75 points.
It's in attack that they're much better than last year. So far Derry have racked up 6-57 (75), an average of 18.75 scored per game.
Only Louth have troubled them, the visitors winning by just one goal in Ardee, 2-11 to 1-11. Otherwise, Limerick lost by 12, Meath by 11, and Kildare by 14.
Of course, Derry still have to take on perhaps the three strongest other teams in Division Two, Dublin, Clare, and Cork, with the Dubs first up in Celtic Park this Saturday evening.
Dublin are in second spot, also with four victories to their name, while Cork trounced Limerick by 24 points on Sunday, 6-18 to 0-12, having only lost narrowly at home to the Dubs in the previous round.
Gallagher even sounded a note of caution about the Banner County, who only lost by a point to Dublin in Croke Park on Saturday evening: "Clare were very unlucky to lose to Meath, very unlucky to lose last week – I thought they should have beat Kildare, I thought they were by a good stretch the better team. I didn't see the game [against Dublin]…Cork are coming up as well."
"Look, every opponent has to be respected and the best way we can do that is recover well and prepare well in training."
Gallagher did acknowledge that his team had attacked very well in Newbridge, but joked about a comment from Chrissy McKaigue that Derry had got the defensive side right last year and now how to improve going forward:
"We did [attack well], we have to prove ourselves with or without the ball every day. Speaking as a defender he might think we got the defensive side right because he had plenty of protection!
"Look, we try to push on. You have to continue to evolve because teams find out a wee bit about you."
Changes to the Derry team are positional as well as in terms of personnel, Gallagher explained – while also noting that there are young players already well-established in the side:
Part of the natural evolution, Shane [MNcGuigan]'s still only 24; Conor Glass is not long in midfield, Brendan Rogers pushed into the middle of the field.
"You've Paul Cassidy and Ethan Doherty, Ethan's still 21 until the end of the year, Paul only 22 now, so it's a youngish breed. But we've got a lot of games under our belt now over the last two-and-a-bit years."
Derry have deliberately fielded largely the same side in the League so far, but have quality options on the bench.
In Newbridge, they brought on Shea Downey, Oisin McWilliams, Conleth McGuckian, Paul McNeill, and Ben McCarron. The rest of the subs were goalkeeper Ryan Scullion, Lachlan Murray, Niall O'Donnell, Matthew Downey, Declan Cassidy, and Mark Doherty.
That's a serious squad, with Shea Downey a regular starter last year, but Gallagher still wants more.
"Yeah, Paul [McNeill] has played championship over the years. We'd like more depth, there's absolutely no doubt about that.
"We didn't develop a culture like Dublin have, of players mad to play for the county and committing really well. Compared to Mayo, the incredible amount of talent that they have – people are busting out of clubs to get playing with Mayo over the last 12, 13 years, because they see the prize in it. It's up to us to get that momentum and get more players."
Despite being reigning Ulster champions, McKenna Cup-winners earlier this year (by thrashing Tyrone again), and the best performers across the entire Allianz Football League so far, Gallagher still contends that other counties have more talent on their panels:
"We get a wee bit of criticism in that we play a very consistent team, but we're not like Dublin, Kerry, Mayo, Tyrone, and Donegal for that matter, who've inherited a conveyor belt of things happening at a really good level.
"We've had to start that. We're building it slowly with a consistent level of players, but they apply themselves really well and love training and playing together."
The Fermanagh man admitted that being Ulster champions, ending a 24-year drought last summer, has boosted the 'buy-in' from players – and boosted confidence by the manner in which they secured the Anglo-Celt Cup:
"It does [help keep and attract players]. Until you win big games against major opponents - it's all right winning games, no disrespect, in Divisions Three and Four, but to beat Tyrone, Monaghan, and Donegal, three of the top six or seven teams in Ireland, very consistent, to beat them in the style we did, gives massive confidence."
All Derry's recent achievement mean that Gallagher has altered his approach, even though they are next up against another of the top teams around, in Dublin:
"I honestly haven't watched one minute of Dublin, I'm not just saying that. I used to watch every opponent, get obsessed with them.
"But see with the nature of the games coming now and the nature of the Championship, you can only focus on the here and now. Previously you had big gaps.
"Honestly, we just watch whatever opponent we have next. There's plenty of time now this week to get our head round it. Look, at the end of the day you know a lot of the Dublin players, we've seen that much of them, everybody knows them, although I know there are new players in now.
"The opposition changes. It's up to us to impose the way we want to play – with the ball, without the ball."
Derry are excelling at both those aspects so far, with a fluid approach to their forward play by switching different players into the full-forward role.
Dublin will clearly be a step up, but it's a challenge that Gallagher relishes: "We work equally hard with or without the ball, and you're working on defensive play as well. It's Dublin next week, we're going in unbeaten, and we look forward to it."
