Ernesiders can be our inspiration, says Coulter

DOWN need to follow the example of Fermanagh in the qualifiers or face another year of underachievement, according to Benny Coulter.

After a decent league run, where they narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot in Division One, hopes were high that they could end a provincial title drought at senior level that stretches back to 1994.

Those ambitions were heightened by Derry’s eviction of Tyrone, and Armagh’s struggle to clear their first obstacle in the shape of Seamus McEneaney’s Monaghan.

Those best-laid plans were torpedoed in Ballybofey, when a youthful but committed Donegal side emerged one-point winners in their quarter-final tie.

Coulter’s hope now is that his team can learn from the success Ulster teams like Fermanagh, Monaghan and Derry enjoyed before them in the qualifiers.

“Fermanagh got to the semi-finals through the back-door system so a good run is definitely achievable. We have to get over Sligo first on Saturday but, if we do, hopefully we’ll get a few games under our belts and reach the latter stages of the Championship.

“We’re in the qualifiers now so it’s going to be a long, hard road. There are a lot of expectations with Down, but we failed to deliver again against Donegal. If we don’t beat Sligo, there’s going to be big, big changes in Down football.”

The man under most pressure is manager Paddy O’Rourke. He replaced his left-sided free-taker Liam Doyle in the dying minutes in Balleybofey, only to see understudy Daniel Hughes kick a possible equaliser wide from the right side soon after.

Coulter has leapt to his manager’s defence.

“The fans have been criticising Paddy even before this year started. Again on Sunday, Paddy made one wrong decision and everyone was jumping on his back. I think he’s come in for a lot of unfair criticism because he’s brought us on a long way in the last four years and he deserves more respect than he’s getting.

“We’ve failed to deliver in the last two years. It’s up to the players because it’s the players that are on the pitch. It’s us who haven’t delivered. We should be taking the flak more than Paddy.”

Having reached an Ulster final — which they should have won against Tyrone — in his first year in charge in 2003, the expectation was Down would re-emerge as one of Ulster’s main players.

Though backboned by four of the 1999 All-Ireland minor winners, that promise has not been met. Worryingly, for a county starved of senior success recently, Donegal seemed to want the win more when they met two weeks ago.

“They won more breaking ball than we did,” Coulter pointed out.

“I think they won 70% of the breaking ball around midfield so obviously they deserved to win. We’re going to have to sort that out for Sligo or we’re going to get dumped.”

Despite their disappointment, Coulter is adamant there is no sign of panic or disillusionment in the camp. The trip to Markievicz Park leaves them open to ambush but the Mayobridge forward expects nothing less than a victory to reinflate their season.

“They ran Galway very close. We have to go to Sligo to play them, but I’m confident we can beat them.”