They may be perched at the top of Division Three for the time being, but Antrim won’t be getting carried away with themselves - not until they’ve amassed enough points to ensure their status in the third tier for another season.
Only then will they allow themselves to consider that back-to-back promotions might be possible according to Conor Murray.
The seasoned attacker has been around long enough to know how unpredictable the League can be.
Antrim were relegated from Division Three on the final day of the 2017 campaign despite having five points on the board.
While relegation play-offs were used in last season’s truncated Leagues, in the 10 years previous, five teams suffered relegation from their respective divisions with six points, namely Limerick (Division Three) in 2011, Cork (Division One) and Armagh (Division Two) in 2016, Down (Division Two) in 2018 and Cavan (Division Two) back in 2020.
Antrim will move to six points with a win over Laois at O’Moore Park on Saturday (throw-in 6pm) and Murray, who was also part of the Antrim team which defeated Laois in the Qualifiers in 2015, knows how pivotal the round four game is.
“To be honest we haven’t spoken about staying in the Division or getting promotion or anything. We’ve been taking it each game and trying to get the two points,” said Murray.
“Going to Laois on Saturday, if we leave with two points. . . yeah you are probably going to be guaranteed to stay in Division Three.
“Then, you’d be looking at the other end of the table and seeing if you can go and get promoted to Division Two.
“Nobody wants to go back down to Division Four. I think Saturday’s game is probably one of the biggest games that this management team and this squad is going to have.
“We’ll know what the situation is after Saturday - who is pushing for promotion and who is in a relegation dogfight.”
Their Ulster neighbours Derry are a shining example of how momentum can propel a team through the divisions.
The Oak Leafers claimed a fortuitous one-point win over Antrim in their Division Four opener in 2019 before going on to clinch promotion.
They finished third in Division Three in 2020 before gaining the Division Three title last year.
Now, with three wins from three in Division Two, Rory Gallagher’s men are challenging for promotion to the top flight and Murray has nothing but admiration for how Derry have improved in recent seasons.
“They’ve gone from Division Four up to Division Three, to Division Two and now they look like they could go to Division One this year,” added Murray.
“When you are on a crest of a wave, you are hard to stop and they’ve been going well since Rory Gallagher took over. They’ve great momentum and it is hard to stop that in League football.
“They are probably the in-form team in the country at the minute.”
Antrim themselves have two wins from three outings with a loss to Limerick coming between wins over Fermanagh and Wicklow.
Murray was sprung from the bench against the Garden County and hit 1-1 from play with his Lámh Dhearg clubmate Marc Jordan bagging Antrim’s other goal in their 2-10 to 1-7 victory at Corrigan Park.
Enda McGinley was also able to bring on Paddy McBride, Marty Johnston, Seamus McGarry and Pat Shivers against Wicklow and Murray believes the competition for places is helping spur the Saffrons on this season.
“This squad now, especially with the young lads coming through, there is a lot of competition for places,” said Murray.
“I think Enda (McGinley) Stevie (O’Neill) and Sean Kelly like that competition and they put the onus on us to perform. If you aren’t doing it at training, someone else can step in and play in front of you.
“Before, you probably had an idea of your starting 12 or 13 and you maybe had two positions up for grabs.
“Now, it is different. You’ve maybe two positions in the forward line up for grabs and two in the defence up for grabs.
“We don’t know what the team is until it is named. It has definitely helped push everyone on to do well in training and to try and do well in matches.”
