Conor Laverty is unsure how his Down team will react to their heavy Ulster SFC semi-final defeat to Armagh which consigns them to the Tailteann Cup.

Laverty faces a difficult task to pick his players up after a crushing 0-14 to 3-33 loss in Clones which, coupled with Westmeath’s Leinster SFC semi-final extra-time win over Kildare, saw them drop to the second-tier championship where they will face Leitrim in the opening round.

"We have to take a bit of time now and reflect on today's performance and reflect on what has gone right for us in many ways over the last number of weeks but also what didn't work today, and then assess our plans,” the Mourne County boss said in an interview with BBC NI.

"We'll have to chat to the lads and see where our hunger is at. We are in the Tailteann Cup now, it wasn't in our plans but that's life, that's where we are at.

“Fair play to Westmeath, they didn't get out of Division 3 but for their performances over the last couple of weeks, you have to give them credit for that as well."

Laverty refused to blame the quick turnaround from Down’s famous win over Donegal for their demise.

"We actually started the game well and went 0-5 to 0-2 up but after that it was one-way traffic.

"That was a big turning point in the game. I felt if the break of the ball went our way, we were on the attacking side of it. It fell to them and they ended up getting the goal,” he reflected.

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