McIver: We showed we’ve progressed

“A top of the table league clash,” Brian McIver repeats. And he beams.

Five points out of six, Derry have been non-conformist with the notion that they would be cannon fodder in this Division 1 campaign. A recovery from seven down against Tyrone, a win in Killarney and now a 13-point triumph over the team that came up along with them. Why wouldn’t he beam?

“We came into this game and we talked about wanting to see how we had progressed in comparison to Westmeath. We felt that we, as a team, had moved on, and they gave an emphatic answer there today,” he said.

“In the first 10 minutes, we really laid a marker and that’s what good sides do. We know there’s still serious, serious work to do but it’s great to be sitting with five points out of six and heading for a top of the table clash in Cork next week.

“That’s where we wanted to be and I think now, this side are starting to believe that they are where they are because of the football they’re playing,” said the Oak Leaf manager.

There was less of a glow on the face of Paul Bealin. As the Westmeath players trundled one by one back to the team bus, the Dubliner refused to give in to relegation just yet, but admitted that it was a game his side had targeted as a potential two points.

“No, it’s still a very tight league,” he replied when asked if he was consigned to the drop with his side bottom of the table along with Kerry, both of them without a point.

“There’s four matches left and we have to try and win all of our games. It’s easy for me to say that we’re looking at Division 2 but we have Mayo at home next week, we’ll see what way that goes.

“The league final last year was very tight and we would have targeted this as a game we were capable of winning, but we didn’t perform,” said Bealin.