DERRY ace Emmett McGuckin says his focus is on the players who are training with the squad and not those who opted out at the end of last season.
After travelling deep into last summer’s Qualifiers, Derry boss Damian Barton has had to rebuild the squad - with no fewer than a dozen players making their debuts (excluding the pre-Christmas Ó Fiaich Cup) in last Sunday’s Dr McKenna Cup win over Armagh.
Sean Leo McGoldrick, Chistopher Bradley, Eoghan Brown, Ciaran McFaul, Emmet Bradley, Dermot McBride, Niall Holly and Conor McAtamney are just some of the names that didn’t return to the county fold this season.
Danny Heavron was expected to be another absentee in 2017 but is back although an injury is keeping him sidelined, while Mark Lynch, Mark Craig and Ciaran Mullan were among the substitutes at Owenbeg last weekend.
From one to six, Derry fielded new players against Armagh with wing-back Neil Forrester the only established player in the Oak Leaf defence. Gavin O’Neill of Banagher made his first senior appearance in county colours as did Michael Warnock of Glenn.
“We’re focussing on the boys that are here,” said McGuckin.
“The boys are working hard and we’d rather focus on that. The door is always open, as Brian and Damian continue to say. But we’re focussing on whoever’s at training and we’ll continue to train hard.”
Despite the influx of new players, the Magherafelt clubman was impressed with how they acquitted themselves in the one-point win over Derry: “Fair play to all the young boys - it is funny calling them young boys as this is my eighth season now. I’m 25 and I’m one of the old boys. But it’s not bad thing.
“Some of them were playing for the first time and were excellent. Nobody goes out to have a bad game and the boys showed well, a lot of them played out of their skins.
“The likes of Peter Hagan, who’s been on the panel for a couple of years, had an excellent game. Oisin Duffin as well and Jack Doherty at centre half-back had an excellent game.”
There was at least some familiarity in the Derry forward line with McGuckin flanked by Ryan Bell and Benny Heron, while Niall Loughlin of Greenlough had a fine game.
McGuckin enjoyed an absorbing battle on the edge of the square against Armagh’s Charlie Vernon and ended the day with 1-1. The bustling attacker slotted home a second half penalty that gave Derry a firm foothold in the game.
“Nobody ever let me hit them before! Maybe I’ll get on them for a while,” he said.
“It’ nice to score but it’s not about one person or one penalty. It’s a team game. Everybody put the effort in. We fought for that win. The first 20 minutes boys were trying to get into the game and a lot of them were playing for the first time. But once we got going it was a lot better.
"When you start the year with a win, it’s always nice.”
