Derry v Antrim: 'Scar tissue' of difficult period is gone
With that scar tissue "gone now, absolutely", Derry appear to have rediscovered their swagger and a 20-point mauling of Cork at the beginning of March underlined that.They failed to build on that against Louth, a defeat a game that Glass felt "brought us back down to earth a bit" but did respond to close out the league with a victory over Cavan.There is a chance they may face the Breffni men again should they come through against Antrim on Saturday, but considering the tribulations Derry have experienced there is no looking past the Saffrons despite entering the game as heavy favourites.Of course, Ciaran Meenagh's side have ambitions to reach the Ulster final on 17 May, yet recent experiences have taught Derry's players that nothing can be taken for granted.While Glass maintains that Derry "see ourselves as still one of the top teams in Ireland", legendary Tipperary hurling manager Michael 'Babs' Keating's saying that a pat on the back is just five inches from a kick in the backside has been Derry's lived experience in recent years.They'll take Antrim's threat seriously this week and if they prevail, look at what's next."We haven't earned the right to disrespect anybody over our performances the last 24 months."There's no easy side of the draw in Ulster football, but the bigger teams are on the other side of the draw - I'm not going to play that down. We have a more favourable side of the draw, but it's definitely not going to be an easy one."Cavan, Monaghan and Antrim, they're all inter-county sides, they're not club teams, so we're just looking to focus on ourselves and if we get a good team performance over those two games, hopefully we'll be standing in Clones on Ulster Final day."
