Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EMM WAS GOING TO LEAF IT BEHIND
Derry’s dark days made Bradley question future
THERE were times Emmett Bradley wondered was it all worth it, in a dark decade for Derry at senior inter-county level.
But the Glen midfield man kept plugging away and the Oak Leafers came good under Rory Gallagher (inset).
Last weekend’s thrilling Ulster semi-final victory over Monaghan came after a quarter-final dismissal of All-ireland champions Tyrone to set up a decider date with Donegal in 12 days’ time.
Under Gallagher Derry have moved into Division 2 and came close to securing promotion earlier this year.
But it’s big Championship wins that Derry football has been crying out for.
Up until this year their last Ulster win came in 2015, and they hadn’t taken a real big scalp since the late noughties.
In 2006 they took out Tyrone when they were All-ireland champions, while they turned over Armagh in a first round qualifier in 2007, before beating Donegal in Ballybofey in 2008 and taking down Monaghan in 2009.
But since then, bar an Ulster final appearance in 2011, there’s been slim pickings for Derry.
Bradley said: “There’d be the odd time you’d be thinking to yourself, is it all worth it? But that’s why you play.
“Every day is not going to be a good day and every year is not going to be a good year.
“That’s no reason to stop going. I’ve experienced it with my club. I’ve experienced it with my county. And hopefully things are starting to move the right way for Derry.
“All we’re focusing on is trying to compete at the highest level.
“Delighted for the lads and the fans. Derry people have had to wait a long time to get a wee bit of joy on the pitch.
“Eyes will be set on Donegal now. And it will be a massive test.” Bradley heaped praise on his team mates who have turned it around.
“You can’t understate the shift the boys put in,” he said.
“They’re incredibly coachable. They’re willing to listen to the coaching points from the management team and they’re humble enough to go and work their socks off at it to try and improve – and improve as a team.
“Everybody that is there puts the team first. And when you have that, the thing is moving in the right direction.”
Bradley says Derry training has been punishing but they can see the rewards.
“There were times you were thinking, ‘My God, how are we going to get through this?’ he continued.
“Rory set the standards and he wasn’t accepting anything less than the best.
“It’s clearly pushing things in the right direction. It was incredibly demanding.
“One thing it did is, it really improved the mental toughness of the group and you could see the evidence of that in the matches.
“Boys are cool, they’re calm, but they’re dogged. They never say die.
“And that’s where it has to be if you’re going to compete with Division 1 sides.
“We’ll keep our feet on the ground. And we’ve a hell of a lot of work to do between now and the final. We’ll just prepare as best we can and give it our best shot.”