Derry "in a very bad place" admits Mickey Harte after Armagh defeat

Derry senior football manager Mickey Harte. Photo: George Sweeney

Mickey Harte admits Derry are in "a very bad place" after three successive championship defeats left the Oak Leafers facing a make or break clash with Westmeath.

Sunday's 11 point loss to Armagh means Derry MUST win that final group game to secure an away preliminary quarter-final tie against one of three group runners-up - Mayo, Donegal and Louth currently occupying those positions. It's a task that's by no means beyond the Oak Leafers but Harte warned it will take a collective by all involved get the county's All Ireland bid back on track.

"Every game in the round robin, you see it as one you need to win anyway because if you don't win your first game you're unlikely to top the group," explained the Derry manager.

"If you don't win your second you're lucky to be in it. So we're not in a good place – there's no way of sugar-coating it. We're in a very bad place at the minute. You have to hold your hands up and accept that but, collectively, we have to see what we can do about it."

The Derry manager admitted he was at a loss to explain such a sudden drop in form and conceded confidence had taken a hit over the previous two games.

"Again, I'm not a psychologist, but it looks, well you can't play the level of football that our boys played March 31 (in the league final) and then have your next three performances the way they were," he added, "It doesn't make sense unless there's a mental problem or maybe it's fatigue. Maybe it's coming off the high of winning the league. It could be lots of things. Injuries play a part in it as well.

"There's a whole lot of stuff going on there, but the end result is not good for us at the minute."

After nine goals conceded across those three championship defeats, Harte said he would rethink Derry's tactical approach but stressed there needed to be balance.

"Obviously, it's a results based industry that we're in here now, and our results are not good at the minute so we have to try and do what we can to get a better outcome in the next match. You don't want to abandon any particular style of play. I think we have to have a mix of different styles but with the offensive game, you must be very clinical in your passing, etc and we weren't.

"Well, when you're in it, it's possible to win it, that's for sure," he added of Derry's chances going forward, "But if you would look at the evidence to date from the Championship started, you would say it would be a very long odds."