Murphy "very happy" with how Louth hurlers performed against Down

Louth senior hurling joint manager Diarmuid Murphy was not discouraged after his side's defeat to Down on Thursday night.

In his first competitive outing at the helm, the emphasis was firmly on performance rather than the scoreboard.

Speaking after the final whistle, he said: “Very happy. Considering Down are playing at a much higher level than we are, playing in Division 1B this year.

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“We won't come up against a team of that calibre again this year, I must say they were very good. I'm very happy with the performance that the boys put in.”

Murphy’s appointment marked the beginning of a new chapter for the Wee County, and there is a sense that momentum is now beginning to build.

“Things have been going good. It's been slow to get it started with the boys in, but it’s slowly ramping up in the last few weeks.

“We're delighted with it. We played an in-house match, but that was our first real match there tonight, and we're delighted with it.”

With new signings beginning to make their mark the introduction of Ciarán McKelvey was particularly notable, bringing composure to the spine of the team.

“Ciarán's a massive addition for us. He's played centre-back for us tonight. He's playing with Naomh Moninne this year. Ciarán's a huge talent.

“You can just see the difference he brings there. He just calms us over the half-back line and everything else. He'll command everything that goes on there at the back, so it's great.

“The panel's getting stronger and stronger all the time. The boys come back from injury in the next couple of weeks, so it's just in time for the Armagh match.”

Attention now turns to further reinforcements, with management hopeful of welcoming back Leon Fox as preparations continue to build for the league opener.

“No updates yet. We're hoping to get him back in training next week. We've made contact with him this week, so hopefully he'll come back to us.”