After a swashbuckling league campaign, Derry's season is in grave danger of ending before the quarter-final stage.
Lifting Division 1 silverware back in April, after a shootout win over Dublin, seemed to signal a side determined to improve upon successive All-Ireland final semi-final defeats with Mickey Harte now in the hotseat.
Defeat however to Donegal in Ulster halted that momentum, a game notable for the amount of times the Tír Chonaill men turned over their high-pressing opponents with goalkeeper Odhran Lynch caught out on a number of occasions.
A narrow defeat to Galway in the first round of the All-Ireland series was compounded by horror defensive show against Armagh, with the Orchard County plundering three goals and spurning further goal opportunities in an 11-point victory at Celtic Park.
It means Derry take on Westmeath in round three, a must-win clash for the Oak Leaf county with third place and a preliminary quarter-final spot on the line.
Speaking on The Sunday Game, Sean Cavanagh raised serious questions over Derry’s failure to address their defensive approach.
The three-time All-Ireland winner, who won all his Celtic Crosses under Harte, believes the inflexible approach hasn’t helped the Oak Leaf County.
"From a Derry perspective, you’d be asking why they haven’t learned their lessons from the Donegal game," he said.
Cavanagh: 'Why have Derry not learned their lesson... stubbornness seems to costing them right now.'
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 2, 2024
FT: Derry 0-15 - 3-17 Armagh
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"We expected lessons to be learned against Galway, they weren’t…the space at the back.
"We know that historically, Mickey (Harte) can be a very stubborn man. That stubbornness seems to be costing him right now.
"He’s refusing to change the openness and how easy Derry have been to play against in the championship.
"It’s going to be difficult to change at this stage."
