Down were the architects of their own downfall against Clare last Sunday, according to forward Conor Maginn.
Eamonn Burns' side were left to rue 15 wides against the Banner County and, speaking to The Irish News, Maginn admitted: "We weren't clinical enough against Clare.
"We missed too many chances in the second-half - we created plenty of opportunities we just didn't take enough of them.
"It makes the next three games all the more important.
"We need to put in a better performance over the full 70 minutes and maybe being more clinical going forward is the key for us."
Weather permitting, Maginn and the Mourne County are due to take on table toppers Cavan this Saturday night.
"I'm sure they'll have the favourites' tag going into the game this week and they have earned it.
"It's up to us to go there and put in a performance that we're capable of and step up from what we did last week against Clare."
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