Down embracing pressure as promotion comes into view

By Shaun Casey

WITH Division One hurling at their fingertips, there will be a pleasant mix of nerves and excitement in the Down changing room this weekend, but there’s a difference in pressure and anticipation says boss Ronan Sheehan.

Like all the other weekends the Mourne men have played in so far this season, they’re only focus is the game at hand. Like the famous inches speech by Al Pacino, Down are dealing with the six inches in front of their face.

The game-by-game approach has worked wonders so far this season. Sheehan’s side have been in unstoppable form up to now, winning all four of their encounters against Kildare, Derry, Donegal and Tyrone.

With two games remaining against Kerry this weekend and then Meath in the final round, both away from home, Down need just one win to guarantee their spot in Division One next season.

“That’s how w’ve been all season long, we just focus on the next game and at the start of the year we knew that if we beat Kildare and Kerry, we’d have a good chance of promotion,” said Sheehan ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tralee.

“We can only control the controllables which sounds like a cliché, but it isn’t really. We can control our journey down, our preparation, our own performance and hopefully that’ll be enough to see us through.

“We’ve already beaten Kildare earlier in the season and now we’re heading to Kerry knowing that a win will get us promoted to Division One, which would be great for this group of players and for the county in general.”

Of course, there is going to be pressure on the shoulders of the Down players with their ultimate goal so close. But Sheehan doesn’t want his players to shy away from that emotion, he wants them to embrace it.

Down have been awesome in front of the posts during the campaign and demonstrated their ruthless streak once again against Tyrone, firing nine goals past the Red Hands as they secured an incredible 40-point victory, winning 9-26 to 0-13 in the end.

“There is pressure but that’s what you play the game for and there’s a difference in pressure and excitement.

“This is where Down want to be and we just have to go out and do the business now on Sunday.”