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12th September 2023
08:57am BST

"But we felt the commentary that was out there gave us an opportunity today, an opportunity to strike where it's unexpected."https://twitter.com/TheSundayGame/status/1680631410552340482 "The word I used to the players in the changing room is a word I have used a lot in the last 10 weeks. The word is perspective. "We beat Offaly 24 months ago in the Division 3 final. So you have to take into account where we came from, where Kerry were at that time, where Dublin were. "Look at the trajectory we are on. As devastated as I am, as gutted as I am, look at where we came from. "I started with Derry in 2019. We were in Division 4. We were going to Fraher Field. We were down in Wicklow. "But look at where the team that has come in a short period of time. There are a lot of players in that changing room who played Division 4 football, so for every county in Ireland, I think Derry is a great example of a team that commits to each other, gets their house in order and does things right over a period of time. "We give great hope to everyone else as well." Meenagh, who had worked under Gallagher as a selector was praised by Derry player Brendan Rogers recently for the job he has done. With Meenagh's imminent departure, the Derry job now becomes the biggest available job in football and in Paddy Bradley and Malachy O'Rourke, there are two obvious front-runners. Bradley, the Derry legend, experienced a similar season to Meenagh in that, mid-way through the season, he was thrust from selector to joint-manager in his role with Donegal. The Glenullin club-man did help galvanise the squad in that time-frame but, with Jim McGuinness' return, would appear now to be available again. The front-runner, however, is Malachy O'Rourke, the former two-time Ulster title winning Monaghan manager and current Glen boss. His credentials are impeccable but it remains to be seen if he would leave the Watty Graham's club, who came agonisingly close to winning an All-Ireland club last year. Related links:
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