DERRY GAA: League title the target as Oak hurlers start with Tyrone

Twelve months ago there was uncertainty. Now there's clarity and Derry Senior hurling manager Johnny McGarvey isn't mincing his words about Oak Leaf objectives for 2024. Derry want promotion and the Division 2B title.

With the Allianz hurling league structure being revamped in 2025, this season has taken on added significance with placings in the new five division format being dictated by where you finish this season. Not that McGarvey is looking anywhere other than top of 2B!

"We want to win the league, no qualms about it," stated the Lavey man, "That's as simple as it is for us. That's our target. What happens after with the Christy Ring, we will deal with that once the league is over."

That bid for league gory gets underway in Celtic Park this Sunday against Tyrone (throw-in 1.30pm), a game that provides an exciting curtain raiser in a football-hurling double header between the two counties.

This time last year McGarvey was playing catch-up after being parachuted into post only a month before the league began to find an Oak Leaf squad minus 14 of the previous season's promotion winning panel. If last season was - to a degree - firefighting McGarvey quickly had the blaze under control. There was disappointment when a controversial injury time free in Ballycran meant relegation from Division 2A but Derry built steadily, boosted by the nucleus of a promising Under 20 panel which would go on to All Ireland 'B' glory later in the year. The progress was clear and while the season ended in the heartbreak of a dramatic two point Christy Ring Final defeat to Meath, McGarvey's building blocks are in place and he's keen to push on this season.

"We make no bones about it, promotion is the target," added the Derry manager, "It is total focus on it and that starts with Tyrone at the weekend. We want to be playing hurling at a higher level and that means we have to be winning our games.

"We are quite lucky in that we had the experience of Division 2A last year and then we also had the experience of the Christy Ring. We played Tyrone in the Christy Ring last year and that was a draw. We went to London who are in 2B now and it was won by a point but both games could have gone either way so we will be under no illusions about where we need to be at, not only to compete but to win our matches.

"We know we are not any better or any stronger than anybody else that's in there. The Nicky Rackard winners are in there, for example, so we'll have to play well to win our matches."

The big close season talking point in Derry hurling circles was the surprise addition of Cushendall's Christy McNaughton, son of former Antrim player and manager Terence 'Sambo' McNaughton, but McGarvey stresses the decision was as straightforward as simply adding another quality player to his panel.

"That's as simple as it was, getting another good hurler in," he explained, "It was made aware to me that he was available to play, we made contact and he was keen. It was as simple as that. Once he expressed an interest we were delighted to have him and, look, he's another great addition to the panel.

"We talked to the more senior players on the panel first and everybody is delighted to have him and I have to say he's mixed in really well. He's a nice lad. He blends in with everybody else and we're all looking forward to getting going."

And McNaughton is by no means Derry's only addition. Slaughtneil's Ruairi O Mianain is in, alongside the returning He';d be the Darragh Cartin while Lavey's Dominic Dougan, Swatragh's Cathal Murray and Eoghan Rua's Dara Mooney are also added to last year's panel. There have been losses in the form of Darragh Kelly, James McCloskey, Ronan Mullan and Cathal Quinn but McGarvey is excited by a competitive looking squad.

"I have to say we have real quality right throughout the squad now. Fair enough we have lost a couple of boys as well but that's the way it goes, a few of the lads are going travelling, but we have brought in quality players to replace them so we're happy with where we are at."

Having left the recent Conor McGurk Cup to the Under 20s in preparation for their upcoming Ulster Championship campaign, Derry go into Sunday's encounter off the back of challenge games against Down, Armagh and Jordanstown although the Oak Leaf boss admits he would have liked perhaps one more match as he seeks to make a winning start.

"We took that approach because Swatragh and Ballinascreen went late in the Ulster Junior and Intermediate; Slaughtneil went until the beginning of December too and we didn't really want the boys going straight back into competition when they came back to us. We wanted them able to do a bit of training.

"Maybe looking back, there's an argument we should have played in it to get a bit more game-time but I suppose that's just hindsight.

"But yeah, a good start is vital and I think Tyrone will look at this weekend the same way. With both teams, there will be a fair amount of respect there and I think both teams will see it as a winnable match for them. Tyrone will have no fear of coming to Celtic Park.

"Tyrone will have been able to take plenty from that Christy Ring match last year and I have absolutely no doubt they will arrive with full belief that they can win the game but so will we."