Down trainer Paddy Tally admits that the Mournemen never expected to reach the All-Ireland football semi-final at outset of the year.

Tally, who trained Tyrone to their maiden Sam Maguire Cup success in 2003, told the Irish News: "It's great to be sitting in the All-Ireland semi-final but, to be honest, we never thought at the start of the year about anything but the first round game. Once the league went well, you are looking at the championship.

"We were very disappointed at losing to Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final as we didn't do ourselves justice for large parts of that game. We kicked off great, but then didn't really push on.

"The focus was then turned on the backdoor and really getting things right for each game. The qualifier system is a great method as it lets you play and you recover during the week and then focus on the next opposition, quite like the league.

"It concentrates the mind and you have no distractions and, providing you can get through that without injuries, it builds up momentum.

"We have landed in the All-Ireland semi-final and really there hasn't been too much thought about that until now." Tweet

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