By Michael McMullan

DERRY are looking forward to getting their teeth into a new league season this weekend says manager Johnny McGarvey.

The Oakleafers open their Division Two campaign against Tyrone on Saturday in Omagh.

Going into his third season as manager, McGarvey has drafted eight players into the squad over the off-season with others stepping away for a variety of reasons.

Ballinascreen’s Paul Cleary is one of the absentees after retiring from inter-county hurling. Others include Dara Mooney, Darragh McGilligan and Niall Farren.

“He (Cleary) has been an unbelievable servant for Derry hurling for 15 years,” McGarvey said.

“He had a long season with the club and he just felt the time was right for him. A few guys have dropped away with other things going on in their lives.”

There is a return for Sleacht Néill’s Gerald Bradley, with Conor Coyle and brothers Eamon and Shéa Cassidy also coming in from the Ulster champions.

Swatragh duo Patrick Turner and Sean Martin Quinn are in with Lavey’s Ryan McGill and Deaglan Foley of Na Magha also on board.

In terms of his backroom, McGarvey has added Gavan Duffy as a hurling coach, with Conor Murray, Gareth O’Kane and Oisin Quinn remaining on board.

“I think we’ve got a really good management team there, a real good gel in it and I’m glad to have Gavan on board,” he said.

With Derry’s three champions – Sleacht Néill, Ballinascreen and Swatragh – having extended seasons and the recent cold snap, their preparations have been hampered somewhat.

That said, McGarvey pointed to the efforts of the rest of his squad at getting up to speed and is happy with where they are.

“I think we’ve added real quality into the squad,” he said. “I think the squad’s stronger now this year than it has been. Time will tell.”

Last season’s Derry hurling mantra was focussed on promotion and sealing a spot in the third tier of the newly restructured league. The Oakleafers will lock horns with Kerry, Kildare, Meath and Down, teams they aim to match.

With a long-term thought of Christy Ring hurling later in the year, the Derry squad feel their league campaign will arm them well.

“We’re really looking forward to the league,” he said. “We’ve done plenty of talking over the last probably 18 months that if we wanted to progress to a level, then we were going to have to play at a higher level.

“That’s a real tough group,” he said of Division Two. “The teams that have traditionally been higher up will look at it and think the four of them could probably all beat each other on any day.

“It’s important to get a good start. We haven’t really put a massive emphasis on where we finish or how we do in that league.

“We just need to get our wins under our belts where we can and build so that the games benefit us come the Christy Ring.”