Down boss Conor Laverty says his team can take from the experience of recent outings at Croke Park as they look to make further inroads next season.

The Mourne men went down to Meath in last Saturday’s Tailteann Cup final by five points – a result that secured the Royals’ Sam Maguire Cup status for 2024.

Speaking to BelfastLive.co.uk after the defeat, an obviously disappointed Laverty tried to focus on the positives of his team’s campaign.

“This is a very young team, they are only starting this journey with us as a management team and this competition has been brilliant,” stated the Down manager.

“A lot of boys have got a lot of game time, they have got two games in Croke Park and that will stick to them experience wise.

“I suppose this is foundation year and we would have liked to get out of Division 3 and just with results we didn’t achieve that and I suppose that is where we will be looking next year.

“We have seen this competition as a good stepping stone to get into the Sam Maguire because inevitably that is where everybody wants to be playing.

"We don’t want to be a curtain-raiser for other teams but the boys will go back to their clubs for a number of months and we will reassess and evaluate how our season has gone and regroup and get back later on in the year.”

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