Down captain Darren O'Hagan feels they have the strength in depth to cause an upset against Monaghan this weekend.

The Mourne men are bidding for their first Ulster SFC final berth since 2012 against a Farney outfit which are red-hot favourites to advance to their fourth provincial decider in five years.

While he accepts that Malachy O'Rourke's team will be a mammoth task on Saturday evening, O'Hagan is quietly confident they can cause an upset at the Athletic Grounds.

"Monaghan are going to be very tough opponents indeed," he told the Belfast Telegraph.

"They have won a couple of Ulster titles in the last three years, they are probably up there among the top half-dozen teams on the island and they have a lot of individual talent."

He added: "This is a massive test for us no matter how you look at it. Monaghan are a Division One team, they have a good track record recently and they will have big support on Saturday night.

"But we feel we have a game plan now, we have strength on the bench and we have players who can influence the course of the match."

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