BEATING Laois tomorrow is a step Derry “needs to take” as they strive to put their days in the doldrums behind them, says Emmet Bradley.
With the Division Four title in the bag and a positive display against Tyrone in Ulster followed by an 18-point hammering of Wexford in the first round of Qualifiers behind them, Bradley says these are “exciting” times for the Oak Leaf county.
Those excitement levels will go up a few notches if Derry can get past Laois tomorrow and a home draw against the Leinster semi-final losers was as good as the Oak Leafers could have hoped for. Bradley, who scored 1-2 in the win in Wexford, says Damian McErlain’s men will have to produce their best to be in the draw for round three.
“We ran into Laois in Division Two a couple of years ago and it was a very high-scoring affair (a 1-22 to 5-10 draw),” recalled the Maghera clubman.
“We know the experience they have, they have a sprinkling of very experienced footballers and I played against Evan O’Carroll (1-52 so far this year) at college level and he’s a very talented footballer.
“We know the threat they possess and we know they have a lot of size on their side which is another strength for them.
“But I believe we have the players to match that and hopefully we can produce the things we’ve been working on since the Tyrone game and come out on the right end of it. There’s a good chance it’ll be a very tight game.”
Bradley hit 16 points from half-forward in five League games this season and recovered from injury to return to Derry’s starting line-up for the rout of Wexford. He says he’s “good to go” for tomorrow’s winner-takes-all showdown and wants to see his county claw their way back into Championship contention.
“When I started my county career we were in Division One or Two and you were always competing with the top teams in the country and that’s where you saw yourself as a county,” he said.
“It was very frustrating to fall down through the divisions but that’s reality at times and you have to realise you need to knuckle down and claw your way back up.
“It’s exciting. We have a good crop of players at the minute, there’s a good buzz about the place and there’s a lot of very talented and driven boys coming through which I hope will add to the thing in the next few years.”
Laois won Division Four last year and Division Three this season and John Sugrue’s men built on their League achievements by getting past Westmeath in Leinster only to bow out against Meath.
“It’s hard to look beyond the Laois game because it’s a huge test and it’s very much a 50-50 game in my eyes,” said Bradley.
“We really need to put in a massive performance in that game but that’s not to say that our ultimate aim is to have a go and try to make the Super8s.
“That would be a massive, massive step for Derry given the position we’re in at the minute and we’re really looking to build towards that and set a benchmark for the future.
“Derry is a very proud footballing county and one thing led to another with the relegations.
“Sometimes you find yourself in a bit of a rut and it’s very hard to get out of because sometimes habits are hard to change.
“But this is very much a rebuilding phase with Derry at the minute, it (Division Four) was a real grounding stage and people realised where we were at and the work that needed to be done. There is huge work going in at underage and senior level at the moment to try and takes the steps back towards where we want to be.”
