Christy Ring/Nicky Rackard relegation/promotion play-off: Derry v Mayo (Saturday, 3pm, Ballinamore)
A YEAR after reaching the Christy Ring Cup final, Derry are just 70 minutes away from dropping out of the competition for the first time in over a decade.
The Oak Leafers comfortably won the Nicky Rackard Cup in 2005 and have been ever-present in the second-tier since, but their status will come under serious threat from Mayo on Saturday afternoon.
The newly-crowned Nicky Rackard champions impressed in victory over Armagh in Croke Park last Saturday and will travel to Ballinamore in Leitrim as favourites to go up.
Having already passed up one opportunity at survival in last month’s disappointing defeat by Wicklow, Derry boss Tom McLean remains philosophical over what relegation would mean for hurling in the county.
“The way you have to look at it is, ‘where is Derry hurling at at the minute?’ Nobody wants to go down and we’ll be trying to win this match on Saturday but, if it doesn’t work out, that’s just where you have to be.
”Maybe sometimes you need to do that to get straightened up again and get rebuilt. But the players that are there are good enough to win on Saturday, that’s the main priority now is give it 100 per cent and try and keep ourselves in the Christy Ring.”
It’s been a tough year on the whole for McLean. Having guided them to last June’s decider, in which they were comfortably beaten by Kerry, he lost more than half his squad for various reasons.
They’ve failed to win a National League or Christy Ring Cup game all year, suffering relegation to Division 2B of the league, but McLean is unsure if relegation in the Championship as well would necessarily strengthen their hand next year.
“Maybe it would be more attractive to getting some of the better players you’d be looking to come back and play if you did stay in the Christy Ring," he added.
“If it doesn’t work out that way, you have to go down and try and get a squad of players together. There’s nothing we can do if there are players out there who are maybe better players than the ones we have.
“If they aren’t prepared to come and put in the effort, what do you do? It’s definitely not for the want of effort from the fellas that are there this year, there’s no question about that. Sometimes when it’s not going well for you, you have to take a step back and look at it and see where you’re going to go.”
Paddy Kelly and fellow defender Eugene McGuckin (hamstring) will be available on Saturday, but forward Johnny O’Dwyer departed for the United States during the week.
Mayo, by contrast, are still revelling in the biggest day of their hurling history. Their captain Brian Hunt summed up what it meant to him to climb the Hogan Stand steps, saying: “I didn’t think I’d be the first Ballyhaunis man to do it. I thought Keith [Higgins] might get there before me.”
They are unlikely to stray too far from the line-up which hit the last four points against Armagh to pull away and claim their historic success. The momentum they have could well carry them to another victory and deliver another hammer blow to Derry.
