According to Ciaran McFaul, Derry didn't want to embarrass themselves when they stepped up into Division One.

The Oak Leafers have been a revelation in the top flight this year and will take on Mayo at Croke Park on Sunday for a place in the final.

McFaul says ast year's Division Two winners have worked extremely hard to bridge the gap, shifting their attention to the battles ahead almost immediately after exiting last year's championship:

"We had a-week-and-a-half break, I think," the Watty Grahams clubman says in The Irish Examiner.

"Then we were back into it doing the gym, then one night a week up in Owenbeg for about a-month-and-a-half and then straight into training.

"It wasn't much of a break but we knew we were going to come up against the likes of Dublin and those teams would embarrass you if you weren't as fit as them.

"I think in the away games, especially down in Cork, we got hit badly by the pace of the game. In the Tyrone game we didn't play as well as we could have, but it was the opening game and we were getting used to Division One football." Tweet

Most Read Stories