Derry boss Damian Barton says he hopes to make a number of new additions to his panel next season.  

After having steered Derry to the last 12 of the All-Ireland SFC this past summer, the Newbridge man was recently given the green light by club delegates to continue into the second year of his term and is currently trawling through the talent in the Oak Leaf County to try and strengthen his squad for 2017.

"Where we ended up at last year could be looked at as a positive," Barton told The Irish News. "Have we got the players that we think are going to move us a step forward, we don't know. But certainly, we'll endeavour to look and see. Then, you're into whether some players are willing to give the commitment that's required.

"I still believe that, within Derry, we have technically a lot of gifted players. Tactically, the challenge for us is to get them into a system that best suits what we have. In terms of athleticism, how long's a piece of string? You can't underestimate the ability of players to get up and down the pitch.

"There are very few Ciarán Kilkennys, but his contribution in the last 15 minutes (of the All-Ireland final) was immense, if you think about the mileage he covers. We still need to look at players and we're in the process of doing that."

Tweet

Most Read Stories