Eamonn Burns deflects the praise as Down looking up again

He would have been entitled to feel smug or wag a finger in the general direction of his detractors after a torrid 18 months, but Eamonn Burns instead used his winning platform to heap praise on his unfancied Down team after they pulled off the county’s first Ulster championship win over Armagh in 25 years.

Insisting that “I don’t read it (criticism) for starters” the Down manager made it clear he is on the sideline for one reason and one reason only. If you take this job, you know what you’re going into from the start.

"You know you are not going to be everybody’s friend and by the end of it, you are probably going to be nobody’s friend. All I am concerned about is how these guys are. I played 25 years ago when Down were cream of the crop, so it’s not about me and it was never about me. This is an important step for the players.”