5 days ago
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Down manager Conor Laverty says his side's Dr McKenna Cup loss to Armagh on Wednesday was a "good learning curve" for the newcomers to his panel.
Laverty started with just seven of the side that featured in last year's All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final loss to Galway, opting to run his eye over those aiming to stake a claim for 2026.
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Although his team came up empty-handed in their opening fixture of the year, the Kilcoo native was relatively happy with their evening's work.
"We're just delighted to get the run-out tonight," Laverty told BBC Sport NI.
"It was a great opportunity for some of the new players to get their first taste of inter-county football.
"Lads can do all the training and play challenge games, but it's a different environment, Once you come into the Athletic Grounds with a big crowd, that adds pressure to a performance, so you find out how lads will cope with that and it was a good learning curve for some of the lads tonight.
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"There's a lot of lads playing for the first time in a Down jersey, so that's credit to them."
Down could force a three-way tie in Section A should they get the better of Tyrone in Pomeroy on Sunday (13:30 GMT), leaving it down to scoring difference to determine the group winner.
Laverty is aware of the task ahead but is happy to use the game as further preparation for the National League Division Three opener against Clare on 24 January.
"I watched the Armagh and Tyrone game the other night - two serious outfits and two of the best teams in the country," he continued.
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"We know what a task it will be on Sunday, but it's another opportunity for our young players and new lads to see where they are at and that's how we are treating the McKenna Cup.
"As a management team, we are looking to broaden our panel and have players able to get to the level on match day, so it's no good not playing them in the McKenna Cup and then expecting them to get to that level in the National League."
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