Sleacht Néill still craving the next step

THE message coming from the Sleacht Néill camp is crystal clear ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final showdown with Loughrea.

Winning a game at national level is all that matters. Pats on the back for creditable performances hold no value. None whatsoever.

A sixth Ulster title was brilliant and cemented the Derry champions as the decade’s number one hurling team in Ulster.

The players laid their cards out after beating St John’s last month. Once the opening few lines of every post-game interview passed, their words were locked on winning an All-Ireland game.

Selector Padraig Dougan is making all the same noises but, more importantly, he can see it in the squad’s body language.

The first Sunday training session after the Ulster final said it all. The rain was lashing down. The grounds committee have worked wonders to have the pitches playable when many other places aren’t.

“I could hear the players, without any prompting at all, saying what a privilege it is to be still in this competition,” Dougan said.

An element in deep winter is fighting illness. That was one of the drawbacks going into last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Sarsfields.

“We’re very conscious of that this year, trying just to keep men as healthy as possible and away from flus and things that are going about the community,” Dougan added.

It was something a few players struggled with in their chests, draining them. It hit Conor Coyle hard enough to keep him out of the game completely.

He has also missed most of the knock-out stages this year after injuring a hamstring in the Derry semi-final win over Swatragh.

His comeback gave him a few precious minutes on the pitch against St John’s but is all being managed.

“We are taking medical advice on his building process,” Dougan said. “That was the first building block, to get him back on pitch and then try and keep building that over the coming weeks, leading into this game.”

While there is a deep focus in looking ahead, there is still immense satisfaction in delivering a sixth Ulster title.

Dougan knows all to well the bleaker days, in the shadows of Lavey and Kevin Lynch’s.

He captained the Emmet’s to their fifth Derry title in 1993, 24 years after their fourth. It was the year of their first ever Ulster game, a hammering at the hands of Cushendall. There was a heavy Ulster final defeat to Dunloy seven years later.

It took 13 years to get back to the top of the tree in Derry and they’ve been there for the 13 seasons since.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said of a look back at the recent times. From the days of craving to even win a championship game in Derry, to now be setting their eyes becoming a real force in club hurling.

They know what’s coming their way on Sunday. Dougan looks at Galway as being a dual county from the point of view of them expecting to win Sam and Liam. And have done.

“Loughrea have county players who are playing at Division One level and are expected to be in the top four or five teams in the All-Ireland every year,” he said.

“Then you look and compare where hurling and Derry or Ulster is in general. You would look at that from outside and think the gap is massive, but there’s something about that bunch of players in Sleacht Néill.”

Dougan knows. He has been inside the cocoon long enough. He uses words like drive and enjoyment.

“The players actually really, really enjoy playing. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be there,” he said.

“It’s a testament to the numbers we have at training. Every night, everybody is pushing each other on.”

Sleacht Néill have never met Loughrea ever. Not even back in the days of the annual forays to the All-Ireland Féile.

It’s a case of studying videos and there are the fresh memories of Loughrea running Na Fianna to the narrowest of margins in last year’s All-Ireland.

Johnny Coen’s presence at full-back comes up in the analysis and a potent inside forward line.

Sleacht Néill’s three-week break permitted enough time to properly toast an Ulster success before stepping back into the bubble to prepare for Sunday.

Dougan sees it as a “big, big ask” but one the players will be relishing.

“The focus of the players is really around asking themselves if they can get that next step,” he added.

“Nothing will be handed to anybody; nothing is at that level. They really, really want to try to push on to get that next step, to get over a semi-final, just to show the progression.

“We’ve been good in Derry with six Ulsters in the last 10 years. I suppose looking forward, that’s what everybody wants to see. Can you take the next step against the best teams in Ireland?”

The defeat at the hands of Sarsfields has not being mentioned in the camp. It will have lingered somewhere but there has been no collective squad mention of it.

It was cruel. There were tears before there was silence and reflection. There were key moments and questionable decisions.

Anyone in Newbridge could see and feel how close they were. To an ambitious group, a one-point defeat means nothing other than a ticket to nowhere.

“To be honest, from the start of the Ulster campaign until today, we really have not looked back at being hard done by, or any of those sorts of things,” Dougan stressed.

“These boys have put everything into this,” added Dougan, who was there for the earlier successes before Michael McShane took over. He knows what’s under the bonnet more than most.

“These guys, they live and breathe GAA. It’s about doing everything that they can do to get themselves on that pitch.

“They’re so driven that the next step for them, they believe, has to be getting over a semi-final.

“You’re coming up against the cream all the time is the problem. If you’re winning a Galway title, you’re a good team,” he added pointing to Galway’s tradition in the All-Ireland.

Portuma and Athenry have seven titles between. Seven different clubs share the 14 titles across Galway. Gort and Sunday’s opponents Loughrea, in 2007, have reached finals.

“They have that history in their county behind them,” Dougan summed up. “I suppose that’s just for us to change that on Sunday.”

A Derry team have never reached a final before. Sleacht Néill are the one to have came close. Five times. For all they’ve achieved, winning in Parnell Park is completely locked in. Sunday will tell the tale.