Derry players praise Brennan influence

Now preparing for the county's first Ulster SFC final appearance since 2000, it is clear that the Derry players have warmed to John Brennan's ways.

Last Sunday's nine-point dismissal of a highly-rated Armagh side ended a sorry run of seven semi-final defeats for the Oak Leafers.

It was a performance that Brennan had expected from his players and one which has made the rest of the country sit up and take notice.

"People thought Derry can't win semi-finals but I had thoughts of my own and maybe I think deeper than they do. I know the players," he explained.

"People on the outside can think a lot of things but they don't know exactly how people operate inside a changing room. Those fellas have responded to me.

"The physical condition the backroom staff have got them into is superb and the players were prepared to put in the effort to get themselves into that condition."

The Lavey man was appointed to his first inter-county role last September, having had a successful run managing club sides like Lavey, Loup, Slaughtneil, Cargin and Carrickmore.

In the wake of the win over Armagh, Brennan's management style was applauded by two of the side's attacking talents, Eoin Bradley and James Kielt.

Bradley said that Brennan is a 'father-like figure' to the team and that 'all the players seem to be enjoying it and everyone is getting on really well.'

The 21-year-old Kielt, whose older brother Charlie is also part of the team, explained that the Derry boss is 'a fairly old school manager'. "He will go out for a pint with the lads. He will enjoy himself. He is a great manager. If the chips are down he will put his arm around me and tell you that you are a great footballer," he said.

"He will let you go out and play football. He is supportive of you making a good run, he doesn’t criticise you for not playing a different way."

The securing of the Dr. McKenna Cup title and five wins from seven league games showed that Brennan was making early strides with Derry.

They cruised past Fermanagh in their Championship opener last month, but Brennan was heavily critical of the second half display and demanded: "I want my team to play for 70 minutes."

They did just that against Armagh, hitting goals through Mark Lynch, Eoin Bradley and Conleith Gilligan. Next up is a Clones decider against either Tyrone or Donegal on Sunday, July 17, a match Brennan hopes the Derry fans come out in force for.

"I have no magic. It is hard work. That's all. Hard work and good camaraderie between the players. You must have talent to start with and this is a talented bunch of players, very talented," he added.

"We got over this line, but we've won nothing yet. I said before the game if we could get that semi-final 'monkey' off our backs we could be about for a while.

"I hope the Derry fans come out in the same numbers as the Armagh ones did (last Sunday). I think this Derry team deserves the utmost credit from every GAA supporter in Derry. If they don't support that Derry team well, they may get out into the transfer market."