Down captain Pierce Laverty says the Tailteann Cup favourites are desperate to follow Derry's template for success.
It's only three years ago that Down beat Derry in a National League game to help secure promotion to Division Two.
But the teams have gone in different directions since with Down slipping back to Division Three while Derry recently moved up to Division One.
The Oak Leafers have also taken the Championship by storm in recent seasons, securing back-to-back Ulster titles.
They're genuine All-Ireland contenders now and Down skipper Laverty wants to make the same sort of progress.
The Down defender said: "That's where we want to go. I know it took Derry two years to get out of Division Two, they missed out on promotion last year narrowly but, yeah, that's our target.
"For you to challenge for an Ulster championship, and even a Sam Maguire, you need to be dining at the top table with the likes of Kerry, Dublin and Mayo.
"So there'll be a big push on next year to get promotion. But even in the short-term this game now, it's as big a game as this group has played.
"It is crucial for the experience of the team. But definitely, we look at Derry and that's where you want to get to. I think if you can win an Ulster championship you can definitely challenge for a Sam Maguire."
It's some mindset shift for Down in the space of just months. They lost 10 of the 11 games they played in all competitions last year, dropping down to Division Three and bowing out of the Ulster championship and Tailteann Cup at the earliest stages.
Conor Laverty's arrival as manager appears to have changed everything. The fear at first was that Laverty's reputation as a Kilcoo diehard might be a problem.
But namesake Laverty said: "People from the outside looking in would think,'Oh, he's a Kilcoo man...' but really he knew a lot of us really well, especially because he came in with the U-20s first. He built that relationship with boys and they won two Ulster championships with him.
"The rest of us, he'd coached 99 per cent of the squad before he even arrived so we all had a pretty good relationship with him. He was the coaching officer for Down GAA so he was going around schools and things. No, he's been brilliant.
"And then the injection of some of the Kilcoo boys who maybe haven't been there in the past, that's been fantastic. They've obviously won 10-odd county championships and they have two Ulsters and all the rest so that experience has definitely improved the squad."
Saul clubman Laverty said the mood around the camp is the big difference.
He said: "With this Down panel at the minute, everybody really wants to be there - I think that's maybe what it has lacked in the past. It really, really feels like a privilege to play for Down at the minute."
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