City of Derry secure fourth but McCarter wants winning league finale!

Ballyclare's 27-41 away victory over Dromore on Wednesday night means the 'Green & Black' cannot be caught for fourth and the automatic All Ireland Junior Cup spot that comes with it. So, with the small matter of next Saturday's Ulster Junior Cup final against Dromore to think about, it would be understandable if McCarter's mind had already started to drift toward that Kingspan Stadium date.

However, that's not the case according to the Derry coach who stressed the importance of a positive league conclusion ahead of the final.

"We can't be caught for fourth but I don't want that to change our mindset going into this weekend," explained McCarter, "We haven't played well enough recently. Our form over the past couple of months has been very patchy so we want to finish the league season on a high, preferably with a win and a good performance, and then it will be all about taking a bit of confidence into next Saturday.

"We don't have the luxury of rotation, especially in the pack where we have a few missing again. It's about trying to see who is available.

"The elephant in the room is obviously the final next Saturday and no one is going to want to pick up an injury but we have to keep our minds focused on Ballymoney because we don't want to go into next week with a negative rather than a positive."

And Derry, who finished last season in fifth place on 49 points, have to opportunity to ensure a better placing and points tally this time round after a season which has seen its fair share of frustration after a promising first half.

"We wanted top four and certainly wanted to improve on last year's position," added the Derry coach on their goals, "I was looking at last year's table and at the minute we're on 48 points and fourth so we have come in with around the same points total.

"I am disappointed with our league showing in the new year because we came into it really positive. We had Ballyclare and Enniskillen to come to Judges Road, we were sitting third and still in the mix but a few injuries later we were completely out of it. That was disappointing but again, when you talk about our goals at the start of the year - to get to a cup final and finish top four - we've achieved that. There is still frustration though at things we should have done differently."

Ballymoney will have securing fifth top of their own agenda and while Derry have already won twice against the Antrim men this season, McCarter is taking nothing for granted.

"We have beaten Ballymoney twice this season but they will want to get back at us. It's their last home game of the season and they'll want to hold on to that fifth spot and the potential place in the All Ireland Junior Cup.

"We're expecting a tough game. Even the games we did win against them, they were real nip and tuck matches.

"We don't know what the conditions will be like either so we have to be disciplined and be up for it mentally more than anything. It will be interesting to see how the boys react."