The loss of up to 20 players has been instrumental in Derry's poor league results so far, according to manager Brian McIver.

The Oak Leaf County, who have accumulated just one point from a possible ten, are stranded at the foot of Division One as they prepare to head to Croke Park this Saturday night to face Dublin in a repeat of last year's league decider.

"Of course we're disappointed to have taken one point out of ten having reached last year's final but the big difference has been that we lost so many players through one thing or and another," their manager notes in The Irish Times.

"So we've had to blood lads against the best teams in the country playing with 10/11/12. Fair dues to them. They have been in every game right until the death and with a bit of luck could have won a couple of them at least. In the long term that will have done the world of good.

"There are lads in England who aren't available for training. Eoin Bradley's still involved with Glenavon. The Slaughtneil players have been with the club and the Ballinderry lads - one of them suspended and so the rest of them not playing. I sat down last Monday just to check where we're at and we had 20 players not available to us.

"But look, we pay little attention to people that aren't there. We work with the fellas that are there and they've manfully stuck to their task."

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