By Michael McMullan

DERRY manager Johnny McGarvey is under no illusions about the task facing his side against Donegal on Saturday.

A win will keep Derry in Division Two and the Oakleafers’ boss stresses the level his team must perform at.

After losing three games, their win over Meath was a boost but the performance was the best of his tenure. That’s what it is going to take on Saturday in O’Donnell Park.

“We’ll have to play at that Meath level if we are going to stay up,” McGarvey said.

“Gerry Gilmore’s about there a while now. their talisman, a super player. There’s Liam McKinney, Luke White is as good a goalkeeper as there in this division.

“Danny Cullen and Declan Coulter are back there as well, and Conor Gartland’s floating about there. Mickey McCann has built a fantastic team there.”

Donegal were winners over Kerry but McGarvey has pointed at Donegal’s impressive season that should’ve saw them yield at least a point on their travels against Meath.

Derry were able to welcome Cormac O’Doherty back into the fold and Conor Coyle should be available for selection after picking up an injury on u-20 duty.

The Oakleafers have received the boost of having Shea Cassidy available after Wednesday’s successful appeal of his red card against Meath.

Cassidy and Cahal Murray were a potent inside duo against Meath, with everyone else putting their collective shoulder to the wheel that delivered a performance.

“I think we set the tone for that very early in the match, nearly from the throw in,” McGarvey said.

Not it’s about taking that level of hunger to Letterkenny to face a Donegal team battling for their lives in the relegation battle.

“You keep an eye on the people, and you keep an eye on the results, as the league goes,” McGarvey said of knowing what this weekend’s opponents will bring.

“We were probably looking at this game since probably the defeat to Down, saying that this is what it was going to come down to.

“We had our injuries, and we had our problems and we weren’t getting the results, so we took a couple of bad hammerings.

“We’re in a better position than three weeks ago but we know how difficult it’ll be and how good a side they (Donegal) are.”