Damian Barton suggested that 'begrudgery' is alive and well in Derry after his side crashed to an 11-point defeat to Tyrone for the second year in succession.

Barton reckoned one pundit in particular would have taken considerable satisfaction from seeing his native county lose in such a manner. 

"Obviously, we have our critics, some of whom are amongst our own folk, which is absolutely ridiculous," the Derry boss told RTÉ.

"The begrudgery is quite incredible and there will we be a wee bit more after this. I can think of one pundit who suggested that Tyrone would be popping their champagne once they saw the draw. He might drink some with them tonight!"

Last year, the Oak Leafers enjoyed an exciting run in the qualifiers which saw them beat Louth, Meath and Cavan before losing to Tipperary by a point.

"We'll regroup. We did well in the qualifiers last year, we were a kick of the ball away from the quarter-finals and that has to be our expectation again this year," Barton continued.

"There were four guys who made their debuts there today and our age profile is quite young. It can be very positive but it is a harsh learning environment.

"We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and be realistic about where we are. We're not fantasy footballers but the depth of character is how we respond to this."

"We have a group of players and we'll build on this group of players of people who want to move Derry forward."

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