‘You can only kick a dog so much before it bites back’

Down assistant manager Cathal Murray says the level of ridicule aimed at the team since the start of 2016 has spurred on the players.

Relegation from Division 1 and a dismal championship showing last year followed by a underwhelming run in Division 2 this year pointed towards a short summer and Éamonn Burns stepping down.

But wins over Armagh and Monaghan have softened several coughs. “You can only kick a dog so much before it bites back, we have heard that said before,” said Murray, “and maybe in terms of our performance, in that we have been at times ridiculed over the last 18 months or so. I only came in this year but there has been a lot spoken and written about the team and it irked a lot of people. And there was obviously a performance that was deep within there.