Devlin says Louth are "licking our lips" for Oak Leaf clash

Louth senior footballers return to Allianz National Football League action when they take on Derry at DEFY Páirc Mhuire, Ardee, this afternoon at 3.00pm.

With two Division Two games remaining, and promotion still possible, a strong finish could also secure a place in the All-Ireland series later this year.

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Just a few weeks ago, the picture looked very different as the Wee County suffered defeat to Meath on Valentine’s night. Manager Gavin Devlin admits the journey home that night was difficult, but the focus quickly turned to the next game.

He said: “The night going home on the bus from the Meath game, it was a difficult journey home now. But we never really looked too far ahead or set ourselves too many targets; we just really looked at each game as it came.

“Once the Meath game was over, on the Monday we met up and we decided that the next game, Tyrone in Ardee, was a massive game, and we just put our preparations full steam ahead for that.

“Then after the Tyrone game, there was good and positive emotion from that, but again we reset, and we went to a hotel out there in Carlingford.

“We realised how good and all as the Tyrone game was, we had to quickly set it down and get ready for the Cavan game.

“Because there was a lot riding on the Cavan game with the head-to-head, and Cavan plays Offaly this week, and with the Offaly situation and injuries from one thing to another, you'd expect that Cavan could beat Offaly this weekend.

“So, if they had beaten us, that would have put them on six points plus the head-to-head, so it would have left us in a really different position than we're sitting in today.

“In Division Two, you've just got to take it one game at a time, one step at a time, and here we are today, sitting on six points, and looking forward to the Derry game in a different light.

“But again, nothing changes for us, it's just honestly one game at a time, and it's now Derry who are sitting at the top of the table in a fantastic vein of form, and they're a serious proposition, but we just plan the way we plan for everyone else.”

Division Two

There were early setbacks in the league as Cork proved too strong and the first half against Meath was also difficult, but Devlin always believed the team was improving.

“We planned really well for the Offaly game. We went away for the weekend prior to the start of the National League, and our preparation was really good.

“I felt we had a really good performance against Offaly, and then, look, it happens in the league, and in this league that we're in, if you're 5%, 2%, 3% off, you can get caught.

“Cork are a really good quality team, and physically they're very athletic, so if you don't bring your 'A-game', you're slightly off it, that's the way a performance looks.

“In reflection, when watching the Cavan game back, we watched it back in depth as a group, the players know we had serious opportunities in that Cork game, which could have put us at half-time in a completely different place than we did.

“So it wasn't as bad as it looked, but I do accept that it wasn't one of our better performances, and that's the name of the game in Division Two, it's nip and tuck.

“There's so much demand put on the players that if they're slightly off in any way, the opposition can get a run on you.”

Division Two remains extremely tight with several teams still in contention at the top of the table. Louth are only two points off the leaders, but Devlin says the focus is to finish as high as possible.

“Yeah, it's really, really tight, and from the top to the middle and the bottom, it's only one game, and our aim now is just to finish as far up the table as we can.

“Going into Division One is one goal, but there's another goal looming as well, that you want to make sure that you're in the All-Ireland series.

“And you know the way the thing can work out, with permutations and teams getting to provincial finals, there's no guarantee. Even if you don't get relegated, if you're somewhere around the bottom, you may not make the All-Ireland series.

“So you have all these goals, and you want to build your performance, and you want to get to the best level you can, because heading into the Championship now.

“There's only two games to go before we're in the Championship, so you have all these boxes you want to tick, and there's plenty of reasons why you want to perform to your best.”

Momentum

Louth come into the game after two league wins in a row, and the Tyrone native wants that run to continue.

“That's all very important, and underneath that again is just performance, and getting players, there's no on-off button in our game, you've got to keep building and keep improving as we go.

“Winning is a habit, and that's two games we've won now, we've got to make it three, and get another high performance in Ardee, and get somewhere where we want to be heading in the Championship.”

Ciarán Downey has scored goals in back-to-back matches. His finish against Cavan came after a quick passing move involving Niall McDonnell, Sam Mulroy and Ryan Burns.

“Yeah, look, I think it's intuition, I think it's the men that was on the ball, a lovely kick-out from Niall (McDonnell), and then Sam (Mulroy) got that array of vision.

“Burnsy (Ryan Burns) too, how he threaded that ball through, and even then, Downey had to be very careful how he struck that ball on the ground, because it could easily have went somewhere else.

“It's all that intuition between one player and another, and there's some things that you just don't plan for on the training field, it just happens spontaneously.

“Look, we have quality, and we've got a good performance, but there's loads of things in the game that we want to try and improve on as well.

“We have a number of unforced errors, and in this league that we're in, when you've got unforced errors, you give the ball away.

“There's transitional moments out the back end for the opposition, and when you're playing the top, top quality teams, you've got to keep those at a very low ebb or at the minimum.

“At the moment, I still think we're giving too many of those away. We had issues with our kickouts in the second half.

“Cavan, there's a few ricochets around the box where they could have had two or three goals, so I think there's still an awful lot to work on.

“When you're winning, people are tapping you in the back and telling you how great you are, and if you lose one game, you're the worst team in the world.

“So it's to keep finding that fine balance, and staying somewhere in the middle, and I think our boys are now at the stage where they recognise all that.

“They're seasoned campaigners now, a lot of them, and they understand that, so I think that's something that gives you great comfort.”

Derry

Saturday’s opponents, Derry, will provide a major test as they sit top of Division Two and have been scoring heavily in recent weeks.

“Yeah, Ardee over the last number of years has been a good hunting ground for us, and there was a really good atmosphere in the Tyrone game.

“Just the way that the supporters are situated, they're right on top of you, and they can generate a great crowd, so yeah, that's fantastic.

“But Derry coming on Saturday is a different proposition than anything we've played yet; they're sitting now at the top of the league.

“They have unbelievable speed in their team, and if we're anywhere off it at all, we could be heavily punished, so we've got to bring our best performance to the Ardee on Saturday to have any chance of being successful in the game.”

Devlin is also very familiar with the Ulster side.

“Yeah, very familiar with the individuals and how they play, and I know a lot about the team and the individuals, but knowing about them and stopping them are two different things.

“They seem to have found their mojo again, they're picking up high scores, and they're defending that vigour that they did a number of years ago under Rory Gallagher when they won back-to-back Ulster's.

“So look, they're a formidable team, and they have serious ambitions going into the summer of what they can achieve.

“They've been looking to cement their status in Division One now in Ardee on Saturday, so, look, that stops because we've got to overcome again.

“These are the games that our boys look forward to, it's what we've strived to get into Ardee and into Louth these top games, so, look, we're licking our lips to get at it as well.”

Derry threat

Derry’s scoring ability has stood out this season, with players such as Shane McGuigan, Ethan Doherty, Paul Cassidy, Niall Loughlin and Conor Glass have all contributed.

Devlin says Louth must prevent them from building momentum from kick-outs.

“Yeah, I expected that Cork would go up in their performance. They're synonymous with this, Cork, where they can turn up one day and play a really high-level performance, and the next day they fall off that.

“But under (John) Cleary over the last number of years, they didn't seem to get more consistency in the game, so although Derry's top team, I was surprised to see the gap in score.

“That's what Derry can do with Ethan Doherty, Paul Cassidy, Shane (McGuigan), Niall Loughlin and (Conor) Glass, they've scorers all over the pitch.

“Again, with the kick-outs, if they get a run with kick-outs and get five or six kick-outs in a row like we did to Cavan, the scoreboard can bounce really, really quickly.

“That's what happened, they got the run really quickly, and they kick out so much to win five or six kick-outs in a row, that the scoreboard can just drift so we've got to make sure it doesn't happen in Ardee.”

Injuries

Louth players were given a short break after the win over Cavan, with injured players such as Donal McKenny and Tommy Durnin being assessed ahead of the weekend.

“Yeah, we gave the boys a bit of a break because there was a lot riding on those last block of three games, Meath, Tyrone, and Cavan.

“It's not even the fatigue in the legs; it's the emotional fatigue as well, to let their boys reset and go for the next block of games now.

“So that was very important to give them that time and, yeah, so, the injuries, we're assessing injuries at the moment.

“We picked up a few knocks again in Breffni Park on Saturday as well, we've Donal (McKenny), who didn't play; he picked up a knock in the Tyrone game.

“Then we've boys like Tommy (Durnin) who had injuries and are coming back on the training field, but just got through the levels in terms of fitness.

“So all that's been assessed, and look, we're in a healthy enough position, everyone's picking up injuries, so we can't complain, everyone's in the same boat.

“But, yeah, just trying to navigate as best we can and making sure we don't pick up any more as best we can.”

Sold out Ardee

Interest in the game has been strong, with tickets for Ardee selling out quickly.

“Yeah, look, my connections in Tyrone and Derry as well, my phone's hopping as well, from Derry, the friends looking to know, can I get them tickets as well.

“There's a great interest, and I think that lends itself to it's going to be a good spectacle on Saturday, and I would ask anyone that's about to make sure they come.

“It'll be something you'll want to watch and see because I feel it'll be a very intriguing game.”

National League

The Allianz National Football League now carries greater importance than before, as league positions can affect qualification for the All-Ireland series.

“I think here now in the GAA we've got a fantastic product here, and what we've set up with the National League and how we've put it together in terms of quality, everyone seems to be in the same bracket.

“Every game's so competitive, and it's a real, real challenge, particularly now with the All-Ireland Series that everyone's trying to make sure they make that quota to be in the All-Ireland and fall into the Tailteann (Cup).

“So all that's at stake and that's the game's normally down the wire right to the very last game, then teams are preparing for a championship, and you want those competitive games getting into the championship as close to the championship as possible.”

“So it's brilliant, and I like the tightness of the calendar as well because now we don't have these big blocks for six or seven weeks with no games because nothing beats playing games.

“You know, so I think we've really got to lend ourselves to the new rules as well. I think the new rules really give the game a shot in the arm, and there's more energy from the crowd and all the rest, so yeah, everything's exciting.”