Derry are relegated from Division One just 12 months after being crowned league champions, but they have no time to dwell on it.
In less than two weeks time, the Oakleafers will begin their Ulster championship campaign against holders Donegal, and it looks like a very daunting task.
Jim McGuinness has his men in top form, even though they lost their last two league games, their avoidance of a league final means that they are in the perfect position to prepare for Ulster.
Paddy Tally however, not only has to get his team back on track after relegation, but has a heap of injuries to contend with.
Anton Tohill is the latest star to be ruled out, breaking his hand against Armagh, while Ciaran McFaul and Brendan Rogers are trying to get back in time for the game.
Conor McCluskey is unlikely to play any games this season while Gareth McKinless picked up an ACL injury during the club championship so won't be in a county jersey until 2026.
Speaking on the The GAA Social Armagh legend Oisin McConville, believes that it will be very difficult for Derry to beat Donegal.
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"It will be very difficult for Derry to pick it up now because you are only talking two weeks until they play Donegal.
"And when you consider the league that Donegal have had – even though a bit of a dip towards the end for whatever reason – you would think it's very difficult for Derry to go in and win that game. It's not impossible but it's very difficult to see it right now.
"The personnel that Paddy Tally has available to him is not what it was even 12 months ago but also the confidence is sucked out of you when you continuously come out on the wrong side of results.
"There were a couple of times when they could have picked up results. The Kerry game is the one that people keep coming back to because it looked as if they were home in that game and managed to contrive to lose it."
Tally was appointed late in the year to become Derry manager, and with the pre-season tournaments being scraped, he has not had long to work with the players before the county season began.
The Ulster championship may be coming thick and fast, but if players continue to return from the treatment table, then Derry's team gets a lot stronger very quickly, and they could still have a say in the championship series.
