By Michael McMullan

CONOR Laverty praised his side’s level of desire to improve after Down’s win over champions Donegal in O’Donnell Park on Sunday.

In the last two seasons, Down pushed eventual All-Ireland champions Armagh and Donegal all the way before coming up short.

Speaking after both games, Laverty pointed to the level of preparation they poured into planning to chin the top teams in the country. They spent days together. Every detail was covered.

He also revealed how disappointed he was in the Down performance after overcoming Wexford to land the Division Three title earlier this season.

There was also the level of performance they needed to get to ahead of Donegal after they smashed Kerry to lift the Division One title.

Was it a tough sell to the Down players ahead of taking another charge at the Ulster Championship?

“Not really because these boys are so invested in this now, they love that,” he said of their thirst for improvement.

“I’ve never come across a bunch of boys that love the game plan side of things, love how we’re going to break down the opposition,” he said.

“They love what we want to do on the ball, how we’re going to break Donegal down. They really enjoy that, they enjoy spending time together.

“We’ve been away an awful lot this year with our training camp and with our league fixtures being down the country as much,” Laverty said of their level of togetherness.

“Last weekend we were away together,” he said of playing Kerry in a challenge game. “That time now, it’s not a chore to these lads anymore.

“I think they start to see that maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel here. That was the biggest challenge, to make these lads believe that they could come here today and get over the line.”

Bus journey

The prize for ousting Donegal is Sunday’s semi-final with Armagh. With a tight turnaround, recovery, refocus and rest are the key words.

Two years ago, Laverty spoke of how disappointing the team bus was after pulling out of Clones on the back of coming up short against Armagh.

“The bus got lost on the way home, it was the worst bus journey of my life,” he said. “Isn’t it great to be going down the road now today (home from Letterkenny), to stop off somewhere, to do recovery, to get stuck in it.

“That’s what we’re in the game for, that’s the stuff I really enjoy and I’m looking forward to.”

Outside of the playing group, Laverty explained the impact Sunday’s win over Donegal can have across the county. It’s about giving the youngsters of the county players to look up.

After tasting last year’s experiences in the Sam Maguire race, they wanted more. Down needed to have eyes about the Tailteann Cup that they can still drop into should they lose to Armagh on Sunday.

He is glad players like Daniel Guinness and Odhrán Murdock are getting the plaudits they deserve. There are ‘six of seven’ players he believed would challenge to get on any team in the country.

“I met Pete McGrath on the pitch after and it was a brilliant moment,” he said of Sunday in Letterkenny.

“I grew up watching Down teams win All-Irelands with him managing them. We’re a long, long, long way off that, but wouldn’t it be great for wee boys and girls to be coming every week to see what Newry was like last year against Louth and against Galway?”