Down’s Caolan Mooney sums up the biggest factor in ending a run of defeats

Anyone who plays a team sport has been part of a side on a barren run.

Sometimes it is because you are playing in a division that is just too strong or sometimes things just don’t click. It is frustrating, especially when training seems to be going well, but it happens. The Down footballers know all about it. Winless in 14 games until they beat Meath in the Allianz League, the Mourne men have gone on to beat Derry before starting off their Championship campaign with an impressive win over Armagh. Caolan Mooney was on the GAA Hour to talk about the victory but also opened up on what was said in the Down dressing room as they attempted to break the losing streak. “You’re sort of going out and you want to prove people wrong," Mooney said. “There were days where it was actually cruel the amount of negative publicity we were getting and it sort of gives you the incentive where you just want to go out (and win). “And it’s not even just for everyone around us, it’s for the players themselves who want to do themselves a bit of justice. “They’ll be like, ‘We’re not as bad as everyone’s saying we are’ and I think that night against Meath we came out and we sort of blitzed them and then again the week after against Derry. “It’s a team in building, there’s a lot of young players about but you just have to take it step by step from now, you can’t get ahead of yourself after one win in the Championship.” You can listen to the full interview below starting from 22:05 https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/caolan-mooney-interview-connolly-frustration-and-geezers-record