Terry Hyland admits division four north is probably the toughest in the Allianz League as he expects tussles between defensive teams.
Hyland’s Leitrim get their campaign underway when they travel to Markewicz Park to meet Sligo on Sunday, a team who were plying their trade in division two not too long ago.
“It’s going to be very tough” declared Hyland, “so much depends on each game it’s not at all like a normal league where you can drop points and pick them up a little later in the campaign”.
“The first game is the most important for every team in the league” Hyland decreed.
Mickey Harte’s Louth, Sligo and Antrim are piled into division four north with many commentators slated the group as the toughest in the county, an argument Hyland doesn’t disagree with.
“That’s true” says Hyland “but we’re part of the reason for that we got promoted in 2019 and came straight back down so you have to look at from both sides of the coin. We have to go out and perform”.
“It’s probably going to be tactical” explained Hyland expecting Harte to employ a similar system to the one he honed at Tyrone.
“All the teams we’ll play in division four as I would call them system based teams” adds Hyland, because their managers are system based”.
“We know it’s probably going to be defensive and they’re going to try and hit us on the counter, so it’s about not having lapses of concentration and then taking advantage when they slip up”.
