By Michael McMullan

CAVAN manager Mickey Graham said it will take “a few days” for the dust to settle on Sunday’s defeat to Donegal but expects the squad to stick together ahead of the Tailteann Cup.

The 2020 Ulster champions were promoted from Division Four this year and after failing to secure an Ulster final spot, they’ll enter the inaugural second tier competition.

“The message will be that we’ll dust ourselves down and the more games we get, the more we will develop,” Graham said after Sunday’s game in Clones.

“That’s the way I’d like to think the players will look on it. We have a lot of young lads within the squad.

Graham sees the competition as a place to continue their development with some of the u-20 panel, who reached this year’s Ulster final, coming into the mix as the Breffni County look at the bigger picture.

“It is fresh in our minds now. It’ll take a few days for the dust to set before we see what the mindset is towards it,” Graham added.

“The boys we have in there are committed to the Cavan jersey, they are not just in this for Championship days. They’ve had a lot of dark days and keep coming back, so no doubt the players will buy into it.”

Graham felt Cavan were close to toppling Donegal and with the “rub of the green” in the first half they could’ve been planning for a meeting with Derry or Monaghan last this month.

He praised the input of deadly inside duo Paddy Lynch and James Smith that asked serious questions of Donegal, with the latter having a goal chance tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Shaun Patton.

“We have a good bit of experience but there are young lads there,” Graham said. “Then we have Ciaran Brady, Oisin Kiernan and Conor Madden, all only 26 or 27, to come back into the mix.

“There is a good group of u-20s too and we’ll try and incorporate them going forward…this Tailteann Cup might be a chance to develop those players going forward.”

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