Down boss James McCartan has insisted that he wants his team to secure safety in Division Two before they can start thinking about promotion to the top tier in the NFL.

The Mourne men are currently joint-top in the table with Ulster rivals Donegal and host a pointless Tipperary side this Saturday at Newry, but their manager says they will be taking nothing for granted.

"It's a bigger game in my head than others might think," McCartan told the Irish Daily Mirror.

"People would see you sitting with four points out of four and think you're flying. But we have the visit to Donegal coming up and then Armagh come to Newry so four points out of four could easily end up being four points out of ten if we don't get it right this weekend."

Therefore safety to consolidate the team's Division Two status is the immediate priority for 'Wee James'.

"With six points you won't be too far away from making sure you stay in the division and that is still a priority.

"It might seem strange to be talking about trying to avoid relegation but we want to make ourselves safe in this division as soon as we can," he added. Tweet

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