DERRY ‘keeper Odhran Lynch rejected the notion that winning the Dr McKenna Cup doesn’t matter – and feels their January success is the ideal platform heading into Division One for the first time since 2015.
That season, Derry suffered relegation from Division One alongside Tyrone – and it has taken them the guts of a decade to reach the top-flight again.
The Oak Leaf men swept past Cavan, Down, Armagh and Donegal to retain the McKenna Cup this month, winning by two-point, three-point, four-point and six-point margins.
“The McKenna Cup means plenty,” said Lynch. “It’s competitive games before the League. The League means a lot to us this year too.
“It’s the first time in about nine years we’re back in Division One, so it’s better than friendlies and it gives us that bit of competitiveness.
“We’ll take one game at a time in the division. We’re not talking about winning it – we’re not talking about relegation, we’ll play the game on Saturday against Kerry and see how things go.”
Lynch is backed up by Ballinascreen’s fit-again Ryan Scullion after he suffered a broken wrist towards the latter end of last season.
“There’s plenty of competition in the squad. Those boys don’t go to training to stand and watch. You need boys pushing you on and competing with you, otherwise you’ll not get any better,” Lynch said, who is also delighted to see Magherafelt club-mate Cormac Murphy stepping into the senior set-up for the first time this year.
The corner-forward was given virtually two full games – against Armagh and Donegal – to impress manager Mickey Harte and to try and break his way into the Derry squad.
“It’s good to see Cormac doing well, good to see him here,” Lynch said.
“He’s always had the ability and he’s finally come through. Growing up he was a bit wee but he’s going well and I’m delighted for him.”
Lynch missed a chunk of pre-season due to injury but is fighting fit again, having played in the McKenna semis and final, and has enjoyed the new regime of Harte and Gavin Devlin.
“It’s been very good. It’s just the way they go about things. It’s slightly different. They look at things a bit differently and I’ve enjoyed it so far.”