SATURDAY should be a great occasion when both the Down senior and minor teams take on the might of Tyrone in the Ulster semi-finals at Casement Park.
Tyrone have set the standard in terms of trophies and development since the turn of the millennium so it will be a great test of our character and it should be a great benchmark to see how far we have progressed.
Critics have written off Tyrone this year due to their poor league campaign and their poor performance against Antrim in the second half.
To be fair I felt they had done enough in the first half against Antrim but we should draw a lot of positives out of how we finished our games and how Tyrone finished their encounter.
But we should know from past years that Tyrone do not plan to peak in June and that they have a continued progression throughout the season. Mickey Harte is a shrewd operator and I have no doubt he will be using the epic game in Pairc Esler in 2008 as motivation to beat us.
We know we are underdogs going into this tie but we are confident that if we stick to our game-plan then we can come out on top.
What was pleasing about the Donegal game was that when we conceded the early goals we did not panic.
In previous years we would have crumbled but I feel we are more experienced and have more confidence in our ability. We have more players at our disposal now than the Donegal game as a few injuries have cleared up, which has made training tougher due to games among ourselves being played at a high intensity.
As with every big game, midfield is going to be crucial, but if we can win enough ball in this area to supply our forwards then I have no doubt we can spring a surprise.
The minors have a tough assignment against Tyrone but if they can play close to their first half performance against Donegal, then they should have too much over Tyrone. Last year’s players form a great spine of the team but I was impressed with newcomers Denis Murtagh, Niall Donnelly and full forward Jerome Johnstone during the Donegal game.
My own advice to the young lads is that most of you have played and defeated these Tyrone players in Schools competitions this season, so there is no reason why you should not be able to do it again.