Paddy Bradley warns Derry of confidence crisis

Derry will meet Meath in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship round 2B at Celtic Park, 19:00 BST. Since their 2024 league title, Derry have won only eight of 27 league and championship games and recorded no league or championship victories in 2025. Derry captured their first Ulster title in 24 years in 2022 and retained it in 2023, becoming only the second county team to do so. They lost All-Ireland semi‑finals in 2022 and 2023, the latter 1‑17 to 1‑15 to Kerry after leading by two points with five minutes left. In 2024 they beat Dublin to claim the National Football League Division One title. Since that league triumph, Derry have played 27 league and championship matches, winning eight, drawing two and losing 17. Their three championship wins are a group‑stage victory over Westmeath in 2024, a penalty‑shoot‑out win over Mayo in the 2024 preliminary quarter‑final, and a win over Antrim in this year’s Ulster Championship. Former Oak Leaf star Paddy Bradley says a lack of confidence is the biggest issue. He added that a return to form from Brendan Rogers, Shane McGuigan, Conor Glass and Gareth McKinless could restore belief. "The one issue I have with Derry at the minute is that a lot of players seem to be devoid of a bit of confidence," Bradley said. Bradley notes the home advantage at Celtic Park, citing the wind and familiarity. "Derry will be just delighted to have home advantage because Celtic Park is notoriously a very, very difficult place for teams to go," he said. The championship draw could see Derry meet the winners of Monaghan and Cavan after the Ulster semi‑final. Despite recent setbacks, Bradley believes Derry still have a core of very good players and can challenge top teams such as Armagh. "If Derry can get a win on Saturday night, then they go on to the next round with real confidence and God knows where their season could end up," he said.