Micheal Rooney speaks to the Newry Reporter as Down secure promotion
Kilcoo's Micheal Rooney spoke to the Newry Reporter's Elaine Ingram after Clare 3-15 to 1-10 at Pairc Esler.
The win secured promotion to Division Two for the Mournemen.
The win secured promotion to Division Two for the Mournemen.
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00:00 Stay with me, I'll be back in a bit.
00:02 Well, brilliant result there. Obviously delighted to promotion. What does that mean for you?
00:09 It all means a lot for this group. We were under no illusions. The pressure of the match today, how good Clare were as a team and how strong this division was.
00:18 We felt the pressure a wee bit but look we came over it and some boys really stood up today.
00:22 The questions we were asked during the week after last week's performance, some of them really stood up as a whole team this week and look we're just delighted to be playing in a higher division next year.
00:30 Yeah, you got off to a brilliant start which was fantastic but then they got that goal back. Was there a bit of doubt that crept in then at all?
00:38 No, I don't think so. On the pitch the talking was very, very positive. We knew what we had to do today. It was nothing short of a win would be enough.
00:46 There was no point in dwelling on it too much. We just had to reset, get the next kick out and move the ball up the field and try and get the next score.
00:52 I thought we'd done that quite well at times today.
00:54 Yeah, and when that goal was disallowed, did that kind of spur you on a bit because those two goals came in very quick succession after that penalty and then the goal and that was that.
01:04 Yeah.
01:05 That was basically it.
01:06 Yeah, all week we spoke about being warriors on the field and giving everything you had and I thought that we'd done that.
01:11 What does it mean now going up to promotion? You're back in Croke Park again which will be a nice little added bonus at the end but I suppose the main thing is that you're playing Division 2 football next year.
01:22 Yeah, getting a run in Croke Park, Ian, is very good. A lot of our players last year were probably looking through that having played in Croke Park before.
01:29 So that was a massive step for us last year and to get more minutes in my legs in Croke Park would stand us and it's a chance to win a trophy as well.
01:37 So we'll be going next week with full confidence but obviously knowing the task that Westming will give us and we'll do our work this week and hopefully we'll give a good account of ourselves.
01:45 And it'll be a good lead up then to the Championship after that.
01:48 Yeah, that's it. More games is what we want and a standing good state to come into the Championship.
01:53 So another game next week will help us in preparation for Antrim in a few weeks' time so we're really looking forward to that.
01:59 Yeah, and it might even mean playing the All-Ireland Series as well this year so that's another thing to consider as well.
02:05 Yeah, that's sort of a card in front for every team in the lower divisions.
02:10 But look, we're under no illusions that still we have work to do to do that but look, we're in a better position than we were this time last year.
02:17 So look, we'll take it. We're delighted and we'll go to Croke Park next week and try and give a good account of ourselves and try and give Westming the very, very good game.
02:23 OK, well listen, thanks a million, Micheál. Congratulations.
02:26 Thanks, bye.