Derry stars didn’t revolt against boss Mickey Harte, insists Emmett Bradley

From being crowned Division One champions to losing three games on the bounce, the loss of form, discipline and momentum has had spectators scratching their heads.

Speaking at the GAA Football All-Ireland Series national launch, Derry star Emmett Bradley admitted that the players themselves are not sure what went wrong either.

“I don’t think I can put my finger on any one particular thing, to be honest”, said Bradley.

“I mean, the Donegal game was probably one of those things where they probably had their eye on us for six months.

“From what I’ve heard of the way they operated, that focus was narrowed entirely to that game. And fair play to them. They produced a serious performance that day, albeit we certainly weren’t at it in terms of being able to match it.

“Sometimes in your preparation, you think you’re prepared for it, but you can very easily miss it. So it’s difficult to put a finger on it with that regard.

“Momentum can swing very easily when you leak goals like that, then it’s hard to swim against that tide sometimes whenever you’re in the moment.

“It’s important for us to be able to find ways to deal with that in-game. We did it a little bit better against Westmeath. But again, we certainly know it won’t be good enough for Mayo moving forward.”

A win against Westmeath means that Derry are back on track, and as they prepare to face Mayo on Saturday, they will be doing everything in their power to regain the momentum that they had lost.

Of course, after Mayo’s brave performance against Dublin that ended in a draw, and the fact that this game will be played in Castlebar, the Oak Leafers need things to click sooner rather than later.

“No doubt about it, we need it to click,” added Bradley.

“Otherwise, one team’s season is going to be over at the end of the day. We’re in the knockout stages now. There’s no wiggle room.

“Obviously, the format of the competition to date allowed us to still be hanging in there right now, where we’re at now, but we won’t get another opportunity like that again.

“It’s important to get that bounce back. The lads have shown evidence in the past that they’re able to get to those levels, so it’s important for us to try and get back to that as soon as possible.”

Rightly or wrongly, when teams go through a hard time, rumours begin to fly and stories of bad blood among the players and management start to surface.

One rumour that quickly grew legs was that the manager Mickey Harte had left his post after a player revolt, but Bradley was quick to squash those claims.

“No,” replied the Watty Graham’s Glen man when asked if there was any truth in the whispers.

“It’s very easy for people to spin these things when things aren’t going well, but no, we’ve carried on the same format of training, the same format and reflection of games as we have when we were winning the National League.

“Obviously, we’re all really disappointed with how we’ve performed in the Ulster Championship and the group stages to date, but nothing’s changed in terms of the group or how we approach things.

“It’s just the responsibility for us as a playing group to face up to it and try and improve our performance moving forward.”