By Shaun Casey

IT’S probably the hardest way possible to kickstart the season, with ties against Armagh and Tyrone coming up in early January, but Down are looking forward to those battles, says coach Mickey Donnelly.

The Mourne men haven’t won the McKenna Cup since 2008. This season, they get things up and running against Armagh at Páirc Elser next Wednesday before heading to Pomeroy to face Tyrone.

Donnelly, along with the management team spearheaded by Conor Laverty, is delighted to see the competition return after a one-year pause and sees it as the best possible way to “fill our weekends” before the National League begins at the end of the month.

“I think counties will be playing games in January anyway,” said the Tyrone native. “What better way can you prepare for the National League than to have a formal competition, a localised competition where the games are organised for you?

“There’s that excitement of playing your neighbours to a certain extent. So, we’re delighted to see the McKenna Cup back now. You look at the crowds, football’s very popular and the new rules have probably transformed and reignited people’s love of the game.

“There’s a great grá and appreciation of the games out there at present. How would we let it go for another month with no games? It wouldn’t make sense because what happens in life is people fill their evenings with something else.

“It’s vital that we grasp the hearts and minds of young people as well, so the best way of doing that is to fill their weekends, and for the likes of us playing against the likes of Tyrone and Armagh, it’ll definitely fill our weekends.”

Down will be hoping to find some fresh faces during the preseason competition as they look to push on from their 2025 season.

“We’re really looking forward to the McKenna Cup to give lads an opportunity,” Donnelly continued.

“We want to see if they can play at this level because if they can feature against the Tyrone and Armagh in a McKenna Cup game, then there’s a big chance they’re going to hang about, so we’re looking forward to seeing that.”

On the subject of the new rules, Donnelly agrees that they have hit their intended targets by making the game more exciting, and Down really enjoyed the freedom of the rule enhancements in 2025. Pat Havern carries one of the biggest two-point threats in the country and as Laverty’s men showed in the championship last year, they are capable of mixing it with the best.

“It’s a better product, it’s more exciting, it’s definitely bringing people through the gates,” Donnelly continued. “I suppose there’s a massive unpredictability with it now too. Seven or eight points isn’t an insurmountable lead now.

“It’s actually a lead that’s probably still very dangerous because when you tag on a couple of two-pointers, the game’s alive again. So, it’s brilliant for the neutral and it’s good for young people because young people want to be involved in a sport that you can score in. They don’t dream about turning a ball over, they dream about kicking a two-pointer to win the All-Ireland and the more scores the better in my eyes.”

Although Down are back competing in Division Three next season, and possibly the Tailteann Cup depending on how things all pan out, Donnelly believes there’s lots of excitement around the county.

They suffered relegation from Division Two despite playing some great football and when it came to the championship, they beat Leinster champions Louth and put it up to Donegal and Monaghan along with Galway.

“There absolutely is [excitement], and that’s down to the players. The players have really put their shoulder to the wheel the last three seasons,” Donnelly added of the buzz surrounding the Down team.

“The players have made a conscious effort to do their best for Down football and put their own club rivalries to the side, put their own relationships to the side at certain times, and they’ve put in a phenomenal effort.

“But it’s vital that we build upon it, because it makes it sound that we’ve trophies and medals in our back pockets. Of course we haven’t, but at least we were back playing in the All-Ireland series last year.

“At least we were back being competitive in big games in Clones, so we want to do our best now to have a really, really good league. A good McKenna Cup will give us that foundation and then hopefully get back in the All-Ireland series because 20,000 people went to see Down playing Louth and playing Galway, that’s what you want to see.”