Down's Barry O'Hagan rows back on 'pointless' Tailteann Cup comment

Down forward Barry O'Hagan has rowed back on a comment lamenting the Tailteann Cup as "pointless" and said that they were made in the heat of the moment.

Speaking in the aftermath of the Mourne County’s 0-23 to 2-07 Ulster loss to Monaghan, the Clonduff man didn’t hold back on his view of the tier-two competition.

"For me personally, I don’t know about the group, I have very little interest in it, to be honest," said O’Hagan after that Farney defeat that ensured Down would be a participant.

With a few weeks to reflect, and a first-round clash with Cavan to look forward to following Monday’s draw, O’Hagan admitted that his outlook had changed.

"Well, that was probably within five minutes of our defeat against Monaghan, a heavy defeat," he said of those scathing comments.

"My own performance that day was bitterly disappointing. I thought maybe if I had kicked even two or three we might have been in it at that stage.

"Look, it was probably emotions and stuff like that that got into my head. I was a wee bit disappointed and one of the questions I was asked was, 'would you rather be in the Tailteann Cup or an All-Ireland qualifier?' So that's what made me make that comment and go down that route.

"At the end of the day, we are where we currently are at this moment in time with Down. If we put our heads together for this cup and try to develop our team, it can be beneficial for us in the long run and that's what our stand is now and hopefully it will go that way."

Following hot on the heels of O’Hagan’s comments were even more volatile remarks from Kilcoo’s Eugene Branagan when he was named AIB Club Footballer of the Year having played a starring role in the Magpies’ first-ever All-Ireland title.

Indicating that he had no desire to