'We are delighted where we are, but nothing is won yet' says Down's Danny Magill ahead of crunch clash

​Down may be sitting pretty at the Division 3 summit, unbeaten with just two games left to play, but the Mourne men can't take anything for granted – even with a 46-point favourable scoring difference – 28 more than Westmeath, who are also on maximum points.

The memory of missing out on promotion by the skin of their teeth last year is something that will spur Down on against Westmeath in Mullingar on Sunday to almost guarantee promotion unless Clare beat Antrim and then Down with massive score-lines and Westmeath beat Sligo in their final fixture.

Should Down win and Clare fail to do so on Sunday, the celebrations can begin for all in the red and black – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

“Last year we won five games and still didn't get promoted,” Peter Fegan told the Newry Reporter after Down's victory over Sligo last time out.

“Every game is important and with Westmeath we're nearly looking at it like a final. We need to go out there with a good two weeks of training under our belt. In Westmeath it will be tough, but if we play the way we did today and go at them from the start I'm sure we'll come out on top.”

For Fegan's Burren teammate Danny Magill, the comfortable 2-17 to 1-8 win against Sligo was one he took in his stride, with the most important aspect, the defensive improvement on the back of the defensively shaky 4-12 to 2-14 victory over Offaly.

“It didn’t feel like a 12-point win, we were disappointed how Offaly got through us and cut down the middle of us last week,” said Magill.

“We really pride ourselves on our defensive work and we worked on it during the week and worked hard during the game. It is not so much that we are not happy with the scores but we are happy with our defensive work more than anything.

"That is what we were working on, closing up the middle and getting bodies around the ball and really going after them. I suppose we are happy with two league points but at the end of the day it is only two points and we have two big games to come against Westmeath and Clare who are both pushing hard up the table.”

Westmeath have had a few close calls to date. A four-point victory over Offaly in the first round preceded a one-point win against Clare. They had a more comfortable day in Aughrim beating Wicklow 1-13 to 0-10 and clocked up the points at home to Limerick, winning 0-14 to 1-8 but still weren’t emphatic – relying on veteran sub Kieran Martin to spur his side on, before they travelled to Corrigan Park in the last round beating Antrim by four points.

“We haven’t really looked that far ahead, we just take it game by game,” said Magill when asked about potential St Patrick’s Day celebrations. "We’ll look at Westmeath like any other game and aim for the win and if it is enough to get us promoted then that’s good too.”

​These days there’s no such thing as positions in Down football with defenders routinely getting forward and scoring and forwards roaming back to front.

“​It is a new way, it is a bit like basketball, everyone attacks and everyone defends and as long as it is a number where I can help the team, I am more than happy to wear any number,” said Ceilum Doherty on wearing the number four shirt against Sligo – scoring a superb goal and two points.

The fact that Down secured a 12-point win without the hugely influential Odhran Murdock was an indicator of the strength in depth that the county has in their ranks.

“We all know what a talent Odhran is and what he brings to the table, but we are fortunate in this county that we have boys who are capable of doing what he can do, but we will be looking Odhran back for Westmeath,” said Danny Magill after the game.

"I think the boys that came in today were super.”

Magill isn’t getting ahead of himself despite the hopeful mood in the camp. “When you are winning and in good form then the mood can’t be bad. We are delighted where we are going but nothing is won yet, we will see 10 points on the board and then we will kick on from there hopefully,” he said. And likewise Doherty feels the same.

"It is one more step, one more game, we know with the teams below all we have to worry about is Westmeath in two weeks and that is what we are gearing up to, in Mullingar,” said the Kilcoo player who is loving his football at the moment.

“How can you not enjoy that. I am loving my football; it is days like this that are why you play it at a young age.”

Doherty, and his teammates were happy to sign autographs and pose for photos with the fans who swarmed Pairc Esler after the Sligo victory and it’s been a joy to see the pride back in the county and supporters filling the stands once again – hopefully the road to Mullingar is red and black too, with Croker in sight for the league final.

“You love seeing Down going full out and everyone supporting the county, it is massive now and you really do appreciate it,” he said.

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