Derry will face Tyrone in their opening game of the season later this month. Michael McMullan looks ahead to the Oakleafers’ new season…

TWO years ago, Derry were on the cusp of a third-ever All-Ireland final. That’s how far they had risen from the well-documented days of the league’s button rungs.

Just think about that. There was a league win over Dublin at Celtic Park thrown into the mix too.

The summer of ’22, the Anglo Celt Cup and the thongs of fans on the Clones sod marked a new beginning.

And in a way it did. Derry were back challenging again. Amid the fall-out of the Rory Gallagher saga on the eve of the 2023 Ulster final, the Oaks did it again.

The team Gallagher built was as good as what was out there. Just ask Jack O’Connor.

With minutes to go in the All-Ireland semi-final, he sat down on the bench, half thinking his Kingdom team were gone.

Derry’s tank began to empty. Without the impact from the bench like what helped Armagh last year’s All-Ireland, they couldn’t close the deal.

When Ciarán Meenagh stepped out of the race to become manager and with Gallagher not returning, it was Mickey Harte and Gavin Devlin who swapped Louth for an 11th hour switch to Derry.

The McKenna Cup was retained as Derry went all in for the league. The Glen players parked All-Ireland celebrations for Tralee and a win over Kerry.

It was a campaign with wins all the way to the final when they needed penalties and more Odhrán Lynch heroics to down the Dubs.

Then the wheels came off the wagon, all four of them. There was chat about what did and didn’t happen in Portugal.

Donegal punished an all-out attacking game with Dáire Ó Baoill kicking two balls into an empty net. It was the same when Armagh came to Celtic Park in the All-Ireland group stages.

It was a day when Armagh inhaled more self-belief into their own All-Ireland adventure.

When Derry exited the championship race, with a limp, it was Kerry who pushed them out the door.

Like the 2023 semi-final, Paddy Tally oversaw Derry’s demise and after a long and drawn-out search for a new manager, Tally became the man in the Derry hotseat. So here we are.

He retained Paul McFlynn from the outgoing management team. In came Paul McIver as head coach. Kevin McGuckin is on board too.

There was the astute addition of Cairbre Ó Cairealláin to head up the strength and conditioning side of things.

On the flip side, Chrissy McKaigue called time on his Derry career. Tally will have to wait on the return of Conor McCluskey and Paudi McGrogan to full fitness.

Goalkeeper Ryan Scullion has left the panel, choosing to focus on club football alongside a role coaching the minor goalkeepers.

Glenullin outfield player Neil McNicholl has been added to the goalkeeping options with James Gribbin (Newbridge) and Louis Regan (Lavey) also on board after fine seasons in their club number one jerseys.

Callum McGrogan’s impact with Newbridge earned him a call. Lavey trio Patrick McGurk, Ryan Mulholland and Rory McGill the same.

Charlie Diamond backed up his All-Ireland Minor win with performances in Ulster University’s Sigerson Cup win and Bellaghy.

Glen’s Danny McDermott missed last season with injury after being called in by Harte. Matthew Downey is another.

Anton Tohill, Ben McCarron and Jack Doherty have also made a return under Tally’s watch.

Should Niall O’Donnell, Ruairi Forbes or Shea McCann come in after Ballinderry’s campaign, it would be another boost.

With no panel announced yet, they would be useful additions to the senior squad.

That’s where Derry are now. That’s where the gains need to be at.

For all the minor success, Gallagher, Meenagh and Harte were looking into the substitutes area of the Hogan Stand for road tested players that didn’t exist.

That’s why the loss of McKaigue and Benny Heron have been huge. You don’t find experience in a lucky bag.

Away from the senior ranks, Damian McErlain’s appointment as u-20 manager is an important piece of business as any.

In an interview with Gaelic Life, Tally stated he’d be in communication with McErlain and any u-20 players would be focussing on their own age group.

Having completed a second stint as minor boss, having already managed the seniors, he was a regular at the club championship as he drew up his panel.

As an aside, Derry’s facilities at Owenbeg arm the county with everything needed for a high-performance environment.

If anything, a strategic dig across the county is more important than any more investment in concrete or dumbbells.

Joined up thinking to lean heavier on u-20 as a bridging grade.

Producing more out and out defenders to deal with the new rules is another one. Where is the next Chrissy McKaigue coming from? The best championship performer with the u-20s last season was James Murray, a pacy marker.

Another dig to see why the county haven’t produced more scoring forwards or square-to-square midfielders from the minor ranks is also important.

That brings us back to 2025.with Ciaran McFaul, Paudi McGrogan and Conor McCluskey all recovering from injury.

Combine that with the negative vibes in the county after a managerial saga that saw the rumour mill churn out a new contender on a weekly basis.

Getting Tally was an excellent appointment. A safe pair of hands who has two decades of experience at inter-county senior level. Aside from his time as Down boss, he was the figure in the background, but it’s experience nonetheless.

The word on the street is that the players are happy with the setup that’s in place.

For now, the important factor for Derry is to draw a line in the sand and move on. Now, it has to be about one thing – the Derry jersey.

The difficult factor is a new set of rules with no McKenna Cup games to get a sustained look, but it’s the same for everyone in the coming weeks.

For Derry, the league focus will be about staying closer to the top of the table than the bottom.

That will be easier said than done. Tyrone are up first who will have a bounce under Malachy O’Rourke. With All-Ireland champions Armagh and Ulster champions Donegal promoted from last season, it’s going to be dog eat dog every week. A mini Ulster Championship.

As regards championship ambitions, the only way is up from last year.

Two hammerings at Celtic Park. That’s what they were. Hammerings.

Scratch the surface, and Derry’s overall championship record at Croke Park is grim.

In the history of the game, the Oakleaf County have won six championship games at HQ. Six. There was also the 2001 All-Ireland quarter-final win over Tyrone, but it was in Clones.

Not since 1993 have Derry won back-to-back championship games in Croke Park. To win Sam Maguire, they’ll need to stretch that to three.

Is there an All-Ireland in Derry? Two years ago, they were very close. The underage structures are in place but it guarantees nothing only being equipped for life as a Division One county.

That’s what Derry’s 2025 is about drawing that line in the sand and looking back at it a few times without letting it consume them.

The short term is about building a squad that stretches 55 competitive minutes to another 20 needed to consistently challenge the big boys.

As a man who was in the Kerry dug-out, plotting Derry’s downfall on their last two big championship Sundays, Tally will have walked into Owenbeg with his eyes wide open.

He needs to get them back on the horse and sooner rather than later.

NFL target

DERRY fans would love to wind the back the clock to that day when they downed the Dubs to take the league title. It’s hard to see the Oaks putting much mileage on retaining their title. A spot in the top half of a competitive league will be the target.

SFC target

WINNING back-to-back championship games in Croke Park would be a major target, something the county has only done once, in 1993. The county’s semi-final record makes for dire reading. Building a squad for the championship will be the focus.