DERRY manager Tom McLean appreciates that his new-look side will be tested to the hilt in their league opener against Antrim at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Retirements, injuries and defections have told the story of Derry’s season so far. Only seven players who started last year’s Christy Ring Cup final against Kerry are to be found in their 32-man league panel, and McLean believes maintaining their Division 2A status would constitute a successful campaign for the Derry men.
Last season, a surprise loss against Wicklow was enough to deny Derry a top-two position and, consequently, a shot at promotion but, a year later, the Derry manager is putting talk of play-offs and promotion firmly on the back-burner.
“Antrim is a home game for us and we’ve done our work and we’ll see how it goes on the day,” McLean said.
“They’re coming down from Division 1B and playing in the Christy Ring, it will be a tough game, but we’re at home and we’ll give it a good shot. I’d know [new Antrim manager PJ O’Mullan] well through the hurling, he did a tremendous job with Loughgiel in the past four or five years. I’d have good time for him, whatever way it goes on Sunday, there’ll be a handshake at the finish.”
He added: “We’ll just take one game at a time and hopefully everything works out, we won’t be saying we could be playing in the play-offs or anything like that.”
Staying grounded in Division 2A isn’t a straightforward proposition for the Oak Leafs as, after Antrim, they face two of the division’s leading lights in Carlow and Westmeath and, while London and Kildare are unlikely to trouble the top spots, nor are they there to make up the numbers.
McLean doesn’t necessarily believe the arrival of Antrim on the scene has made Division 2A any more competitive: “Kerry went up and Antrim came down, Kildare are back up again and Wicklow’s down - I would say it’s much of a muchness.”
The affable Dunloy man has been part of the Derry set-up for five years and is in the infancy of his second season as manager. He has no pretensions of having a masterplan against Antrim - for McLean, hurling’s a rather more simple affair.
“You can talk about different tactics or sweepers, but hurling’s hurling, you move it as fast as you can into the forwards and see who gets the most scores, there’s no point in complicating it.”
The well-documented losses of so many players - the retirements of Ruairi McCloskey and Hinphey brothers Kevin and Liam were a particular hammer blow - has paved the way for the inclusion of 11 of last year’s U21 team, whom McLean managed.
The Eoghan Rua trio of Ruaidhri Leonard, Thomas Magee and Ciarán Gaile get the call-up after their exploits in the All-Ireland junior championship - and Slaughtneil newcomers Gareth O’Kane and Mark McGuigan start against Antrim.
“It’s good to get them in, I’d know the lads well as two of them played in the U21 team last year [McGuigan and Meehaul McGrath], and Gareth O’Kane had played for the county before, they’re good additions,” McClean added.
“We’ve lost 15 of the panel of 30 we had in last year’s Christy Ring. We’ve got young lads in the panel - there’s 11 of last year’s U21s, and there’s a good blend of experience and youth there. The Eoghan Rua lads are back as well after the disappointment on Sunday.”
Two notable omissions are stalwarts Paddy Henry and Conor Quinn, who are sidelined with long-term injuries: “Paddy’s going through an operation for his shoulder and Conor has a recurrence of a bad knee injury and he had to get an injection - hopefully they’ll be back training before the league ends, but it’d be chancy whether they take any part in it.”
Antrim manager PJ O’Mullan has also found his league preparations frustrated by the absence of key players, but the All-Ireland-winning manager with Loughgiel in 2012 has still been able to name an experienced line-up.
His clubmates Odhran McFadden, Eddie McCloskey and Liam Watson have all been given a starting berth, while Ballycastle’s Neal McAuley captains the side. Seasoned campaigners Conor Johnston, Ciaran Johnston, Conor McKinley, Simon McCrory, Barry McFall and Kevin McKernan also take their places.
That experience may prove the difference between the two sides, but if Derry upset the odds McLean might find himself aiming a little higher than maintaining their Division 2A status.
