DERRY forward Shane McGuigan has hailed Rory Gallagher’s challenging nature as a reason why the Sleacht Néill forward is playing so well.

McGuigan was brilliant during the league campaign, and his performances culminated in the Oak Leafers Division Three final victory.

However, the pressure is now on him and his team-mates to deliver in the Ulster Championship, something that he has not been able to do since he made his debut in 2017.

“I am not getting hyped up. There is a lot of hype in the county but we are not getting involved because this is a new team that is building towards something.

“I don’t think we will be expected to be winning Ulsters or All-Irelands just yet. We are just relaxed about how the new season is going.”

Derry’s poor record in the provincial competition remains an issue. Their last win in the competition was against Down in 2015.

“We have been saying that it has been 2015 since the last time Derry won an Ulster Championship match. When you say it like that it doesn’t sound good. It is coming on six years.

“I do think there has to come a time there has to be a statement made by this team. It might not be this year but we will be giving it our all. We do see the knockout championship format puts that added bit of pressure on the line. I speak on behalf of the whole team in saying that we don’t want our season to end just yet.

“So I do think a statement is needed from this team soon if we are serious about where we want to go.”

Derry’s hopes of getting a win in Ulster have been lifted by the form that Gallagher’s tactics have delivered.

Yet for McGuigan, Gallagher’s man-management has been a key factor in the improvement in the Oak Leaf county’s fortunes.

“He always talked about being able to attack off both sides. He was constantly on to me about making sure that I had to make defenders honest by even going on to my right and then checking back onto my left. I had to make runs in behind and not just showing for the ball. He’s still on to me about that.

“He wants me to be more cute with my runs and to use them to push defenders into areas where they don’t want to go.

“Then the scoring accuracy, he showed me a statistic from last year of my scoring accuracy and it wasn’t good and he demanded that I put a lot more emphasis on the skills of scoring.

“He put that challenge on me and that is the first time that I have been challenged in that regard.”

Gallagher has said that he has challenged the whole Derry team in a similar way. He has said that he thinks that if Derry show the right attitude then they can compete with the best.

On Sunday, we will see if Shane McGuigan and his teammates can make that statement.

IMPROVING… Shane McGuigan explains how Rory Gallagher has helped him