Mourne boss Conor Laverty has hailed his predecessor James McCartan as “a true Down man” after masterminding the county’s shock win over Donegal.
Laverty, Marty Clarke and co have got the buzz back in Down and a huge home crowd witnessed their five-point Ulster Championship win in Pairc Esler on Sunday.
Things might be looking good now, with an Ulster semi-final against Armagh to look forward to at Clones this Sunday, but Laverty didn’t forget those who went before him.
“Down people have waited a long time for Newry to be back like this here,” he said.
“Down have been to a lot of dark places and over the past number of years a lot of good men have given their time up.
“Wee James came in last year when nobody else wanted to do the job. It’s for men like that, who are true Down men, that you want to do it for.
“And I’m glad the players are getting to experience this because it’s hard for Down people to see other counties having success.
“The Down support has been amazing this year, we respect people giving up hard-earned money to come and buy tickets and I hope they enjoyed it.”
Down failed to win a game in 2022 when McCartan reluctantly stepped into the breach for a second stint in charge.
The players are playing with confidence and belief now, and made a mockery of the fact they played two divisions below Donegal this spring. So what has changed?
“There is real steel in them,” Laverty claimed.
“There is great talent in Down but they weren’t maximising it enough or putting their shoulder to the wheel enough. The lads have worked hard and done everything we asked of them.
“I told them at half-time I was delighted with their response to the early (Donegal) goal.
“Coming in as a Division Three against a Division One team, and the Division One team hits the net early, it can turn into a difficult game.
“But the response, that’s what different with this Down team. When you have been to a lot of dark places and then things go against you in a game scenario, you can always go back to that.”
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