Glen seeking to extend Derry's stunning record in club championship

From the moment Glen finally got over the line and won their first ever Derry senior title in 2021, it was the consensus view well beyond the county that this would not be their summit.

With Derry suddenly making waves at inter-county level after years of abject failure, outsiders glimpsed sight of a club line-up containing Conor Glass, Emmett Bradley and Ethan Doherty.

Such has been the long-running hype around their current crop of players that last month's Ulster final victory over Kilcoo felt bizarrely overdue - despite it being only their second tilt at the competition.

However, defender Michael Warnock, who turns 30 this week, is around long enough to recall the prevailing narrative prior to Glen's first taste of senior success.

"The narrative was, if you were born in Maghera and played for Glen, then you weren't going to be capable of winning championships," Warnock told RTÉ Sport this week.

"People questioned your character and your manhood as well, and that's something that's been around for years, much longer than I've been living.

"It's something that has given us a chip on the shoulder when we have been playing at senior level as well, and a narrative that we certainly wanted to change, because it's not something that you want your club to be known for, or you individually.

"People saying that Glen didn't have character or leaders, that's something that has been sprouted about for years, and we felt that the only way we could prove different was by winning a championship and ultimately being able to back that up.

"So, it's been nice to be able to do that."

Interestingly, while Glen (aka, Watty Grahams, aka Maghera) were long touted as likely Ulster champions, Warnock says the pressure they felt in the provincial