By Shaun Casey

VERY few managers come away from a league campaign that saw their team relegated with more positives than negatives, but that’s the position Conor Laverty found himself in.

Having just beaten league leaders Monaghan by the minimum of margins, Down still suffered the drop back to Division Three due to their head-to-head record with Louth, as they lost to the Wee County by just one point in round four.

If anything, that Louth game summed up Down’s entire Division Two campaign. They showed they deserve to play at this level, but it’s a brutal business and small margins went against them all too often.

No doubt they’ll take all the learnings on board, and they are a team on the rise. Success doesn’t come instantly, and they just need to look at their near neighbours Armagh for motivation. Sticking it out through the tough times can be worth it in the end.

Last season, Kieran McGeeney’s men defeated Down in the Ulster semi-final with a late, late Jason Duffy point the difference between the teams. By the end of the season, Armagh were crowned All-Ireland champions.

That performance, along with their displays in the league, will surely reaffirm that Down are on the right path. The Sam Maguire Cup may not be realistically in their reach, but at least they are back competing for it.

Last year’s Tailteann Cup triumph was essential for the men in red and black purely because it guaranteed entrance into the 2025 All-Ireland series. Down folk deal in Celtic Crosses, so chasing Sam is hugely important.

And while they aren’t in the list of top All-Ireland contenders, Laverty’s lads will have absolutely no fear of anyone. They do have an Ulster campaign first and foremost, but they’ll embrace the challenge of meeting some of the top teams in the All-Ireland group series.

Ulster first though and despite being relegated, Down will be heavy favourites to come through their opening round clash with Fermanagh, a team they will compete against in Division Three next season.

Man for man, Down look to have the better squad, but that’s not how football works. They’ll be guarded against complacency and know they have to deliver on the day if they want to reach the last four.

Looking at the Down team, there is quality everywhere. Even without the likes of speedsters Liam Kerr and Shealan Johnston, their scoring rates have been incredible, and they have adapted easily to the new rules.

Pat Havern was made for the two-point arc. He’s been the talisman for quite a while, but never before has he reached the scoring heights he did throughout the league. Going forward, he’s going to be a marked man.

But he isn’t on his own and any team preparing for Down would be foolish to think that. They have an abundance of pace and power and their line-breakers from deep make them incredibly hard to defend against.

Odhrán Murdock is one of the best young players in Ulster, and probably in Ireland, and is an absolute powerhouse around the middle.

He’s the all-round complete footballer and is worth a couple of scores a game as well.

With the likes of Eugene Branagan, Danny Magill, Micéal Rooney and Ceilum Doherty bombing forward at every opportunity, Down have the potential to really hurt teams on the scoreboard.

Defensively, Pierce Laverty and Peter Fagan are rock solid while Ryan McEvoy, now operating at centerfield, is a viable option to bring back into the rearguard should such a situation arise that they need more manpower.

Sam Maguire is out of their reach for now, but that doesn’t mean Down can’t give a proper assault on the Ulster Championship. They have Fermanagh to worry about, but Donegal, Derry or Monaghan will be wary of them should that semi-final present itself.

Roll of honour:
12 (1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1981, 1991, 1994)

Memorable Ulster Championship match:
Ulster Championship semi-final 2017
Down 1-14 Monaghan 0-15
Sunday June 24, 2017
HAVING beaten arch-rivals Armagh in the opening round of the Ulster Championship, Down headed into their last-four battle with Monaghan as massive underdogs. The Farney men had destroyed Down just 12 months earlier, winning 2-22 to 0-9, so very few people gave Eamon Burns’ side a realistic chance of upsetting the odds. But Down played with passion and physically matched Monaghan all over the field. Having led at the break, Darragh O’Hanlon bagged a goal from a penalty and the Mourne men never looked back. They did suffer an Ulster final defeat to Tyrone that season, but that win over Monaghan was a special one.

Wild card: Danny Magill
SON of Down’s All-Ireland winner Miceal Magill, Danny very much stands on his own two feet. Having made his championship debut in 2023, Magill is now one of the main men on Conor Laverty’s team sheet and has absolutely flourished under the new rules. The Burren man is just as comfortable in the half-back line as he is in the half-forward line and it’s his work ethic and ability to cover the ground that helps him stand out. He’s well fit to take a score when the opportunity presents itself as well and popped up with a couple of two-pointers throughout the league as well.

Captain: Pierce Laverty
A TEAK tough man-marking defender, Laverty has been the Down skipper for the past couple of years now and has grown into a real leader in the team. He is usually the one that goes man-to-man with the best forward on the opposition team and thrives on that challenge. He finished last season’s campaign on the steps of the Hogan Stand having captained the Mourne men to the Tailteann Cup, beating Laois in the final. The Saul clubman led Down through their recent Division Two campaign, where they were unfortunate to be relegated, and they will be keen to leave their stamp on the championship.

Manager: Conor Laverty
SINCE taking charge of the Down senior team, the county has been on the rise. The Kilcoo native will have been disappointed to have dropped out of the second tier, but his side certainly showed that they can live at that level. Laverty guided the Mourne men to a Tailteann Cup title last season, giving them a free ticket into the Sam Maguire series this year and they’ll be confident that they can compete with some of the best in the business. The short-term goal will be getting over Fermanagh in the opening round of the championship and possibly reaching an Ulster final.