Championship is our real aim, says Cassidy

WHEN Damien Cassidy opened his post-match press conference with a joke it said everything about the importance Derry attached to claiming the Division One title yesterday.

Losing managers are expected to frown, to harrumph. Solemn shakes of the head are usually de rigeur but the Derry manager’s breezy mood evaporated when asked if he was disappointed at the “manner” of the defeat.

“The manner of the defeat? Do you think it was a bad defeat? I don’t know. There are different types of defeats. Championship defeats are bad defeats. Leagues are not bad defeats because our games are about championship football. The game itself, when you come to Croke Park you definitely want to win it, make no mistake about that, but I was always quite clear about what we needed to achieve in the campaign.