At the end of January, two late Shane McGuigan points ensured victory for Derry against Tyrone, earning Ciaran Meenagh's men their first win of the Allianz Football League.
Two months later Derry dismantled Cork with a ruthless second-half performance that saw them finish the game with 12 different scorers with McGuigan kicking nine of their 31 points.
Such wins are crucially important to Derry who lie fourth in Division 2, but still just a couple of points behind the table-topping Rebels.
And whilst other players are proving their worth, it’s of huge importance that marksman McGuigan is in a rich vein of form also.
It is not long since the Oak Leaf County went on a frustrating run of results.
In 2023, they conceded eight goals in eight championship games. Twelve months later, nine goals were conceded in three games, with none scored at the other end.
In 2024 they failed to win a championship game, but did show improvement under Paddy Tally in the All-Ireland round-robin stage as they pushed Armagh, Galway and Dublin hard.
Still, four wins out of six games in this year’s Allianz Football League is a welcome enough stat for the county as they face Cavan in the final round to try to maximise their return in the ultra-competitive second tier.
McGuigan’s enthusiasm for the year ahead is obvious. Speaking at the launch of the 2026 John West Féile competition, McGuigan says it is a great time to be playing the game.
"With the rules you know you are going to get five or six shots on goal and it’s then up to me to hold my end of the bargain and score," he told RTÉ Sport.
"Rather than two or three men around you, there is the opportunity to find space now. And there is the knowledge that you don’t have to track back every play, so it’s definitely a breath of fresh air.
"It’s an entertaining game to watch and play now. At the other end of the pitch we are really seeing how good defenders are in one-on-one situations too.
"Teams are going zonal and others are going man-on-man and it leads to great debate. It’s nice to see how different teams are approaching games.
"Overall, it’s been a good league so far. We learned a lot from our defeats, how much we struggled against certain teams and how we can work on our defence and around the two-point arc.
"Especially after the Louth game (where they conceded four two-pointers), we know where we can improve on and it gives us confidence that if we make these corrections we will be there or thereabouts."
Under the watch of Ciarán Meenagh, there are signs that Derry are becoming a force to be reckoned with again.
"He cares so much about us," McGuigan says. "He makes that clear to us every single night and day, and when you have a manager like that who cares about you as a person, you want to go out and do all you can to play for him.
"We were close last year as well and performed very well against Kerry, Galway and Dublin. We know we can compete, but nothing builds confidence like that winning habit."
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