New era begins tonight for Mickey Harte and Derry

Derry’s era under new manager Mickey Harte will begin tonight when the Oakleaf County begin their Dr McKenna Cup defence against Cavan (Kingspan Breffni, 7.30pm). 

Before the appointment of the three-time All-Ireland winning boss, Derry finished their climb from Division Four with back-to-back Ulster titles under the watch of Rory Gallagher and Ciarán Meenagh. 

Meenagh will be in Conor Laverty’s backroom team when Down visit Celtic Park on Saturday with Derry making the trip to Tralee to take on Kerry when the league kicks into gear later this month. 

There will be a new face in the Cavan dugout tonight in the form of Raymond Galligan. Last year’s captain and goalkeeper surprisingly threw his hat in the ring when Mickey Graham stepped down from the manager post at the end of last season. 

Harte will have to plan without his Glen contingent who are in All-Ireland semi-final action this weekend against Kilmacud Crokes, with Cavan missing the services of their Arva players including the experienced Ciarán Brady. 

Derry will have been factoring in the loss of goalkeeper Odhrán Lynch with a hamstring injury aggravated in Magherafelt’s county final defeat to Glen. 

Benny Heron won’t be in the Derry plans after he called time on his inter-county career at the end of last season. 

Derry’s big picture will be making a step closer to an All-Ireland title after coming short at the hands of Galway and Kerry in the last two seasons at the semi-final stage. 

“We believe we can bring something additional to them,” Harte said of the management team that includes Gavin Devlin. 

Enda Muldoon has been retained from the last two seasons with Paul McFlynn and Murtagh O’Brien joining up this season. 

“If we can bring something additional to them, to add to what they have, then it is going to make them even more competitive than they have been of recent times, so I think that will put them in a very good place. 

“Nobody can guarantee anything about cups or titles, you go after those things. The main thing we can do is to add value to what they are about. 

“They have made serious progress in the last three or four years and to win back-to-back Ulster titles is no mean feat and have been in two All-Ireland semi-finals so they are a very good team. 

“If we add value to value to what they are about I think they are going to be more serious contenders than they have been in the last few years.” 

Harte has always been a huge advocate of the McKenna Cup and nothing has changed. In his view, counties need it and without the “subsidiary competitions” counties have to rely on challenge matches he feels are of “no value”. 

He points to the organised nature of the McKenna Cup, hails the Ulster Council’s promotion of it, the media coverage and having a cup up for grabs before the league begins. 

“What we have here is well worth going after and I have been an advocate of it for years and I am glad to be back in this arena again,” he said. 

“I love the McKenna Cup and think, particularly now, the way the league starts before the end of January counties need competitive games ahead of the league and it gives Ulster teams a head start, I believe, in the competitive stakes.”