Niall McParland: Conor Laverty can break down Mourne barriers

Down defender Niall McParland believes that Conor Laverty possesses the necessary skillset to break through the barriers that are holding the county back.

After a tumultuous period in recent seasons, the Mourne County have displayed some green shoots of recovery this season, earning an impressive win over Donegal in Ulster on the back of a strong Division 3 promotion push that just fell short.

It's no secret that club rivalries have had an impact on the county set-up, while a discipline breakdown on a training weekend last April saw then manager James McCartan reach for the exit door before ultimately being convinced to see the campaign out.

Laverty stepped into fill the vacuum and McParland, who was keen to stress his admiration for McCartan and his assistant Aidan O’Rourke for their efforts in a difficult 2022 campaign, feels that the Kilcoo man has bulldozed through some sensitive issues since taking charge.

"Armagh had a team like Kilcoo in Crossmaglen and when a club team is really successful in a county then everyone else is envious of them," McParland said of the club dynamic within the county.

"Down couldn’t attract a lot of the Kilcoo players because they were so involved in Kilcoo but Conor coming in opened everything up and he knows the Kilcoo players so well and they’re winners. It’s naturally in them and they’ve been winning for 10 years so to have lads like that around training is brilliant.

"You have thoughts about people, 'I don’t like him on the pitch’ or whatever, but once you train with them and eat with them after training you realise that everybody is pretty similar. We’re all GAA people and normal lads and the walls quickly come down and you build good friendships.

"There are lads from Kilcoo I didn’t know