Key Highlights :
1. Armagh's Rory Grugan is in action against Tyrone's Frank Burns and Cormac Quinn in the Ulster Championship.
2. The Orchard County lost to their Ulster rivals in Omagh last month and were subsequently relegated from Division One after Monaghan's victory over Mayo.
3. McEntee stepped down as Meath manager last summer, surprising people when he took the Antrim job few weeks later.
4. So why did he do it? "My brother Gerry told me years and years ago that championship football is a drug and he is probably right," McEntee says.
5. "You do get addicted to it. I suppose you grow up with it. You’ve been involved in it for most of your life.
6. "I was sitting at home doing nothing for two or three weeks and even at that stage I was going, ‘is this it?’
7. "But the Antrim thing did come out of the blue. I couldn’t see myself doing a team in Leinster (and coming up against Meath), I definitely couldn’t have seen that.
8. "But the fact Antrim were in Division Three and not in Leinster made it a bit easier.
9. McEntee had only two reference points when it came to Antrim football – former UCD Sigerson Cup team-mate Andy Healy (dad of current Saffron Peter) and Stephen Muldoon.
10. "The general consensus I would have heard was ‘you’ll do well to get everyone together’ and that there’s always a bit of club rivalry. But I couldn’t back that up at all.
11. "Antrim football manager Andy McEntee has 40 odd players in with him and everyone was more than happy to be there.
12. "When he watched his team get hockeyed by Westmeath it was bound to be a day when the Meath man wondered what the hell he’d got himself in to.
13. But the Saffrons, who face a difficult Ulster Championship opener away to Armagh on Saturday, survived in Division Three with a win over the champions Cavan their most notable league result.
14. On the bad days like losing by 31 points in Mullingar, McEntee finds it much easier being an outside manager.
15. "I suppose the big difference is you can leave it behind you.
16. "I would have found that when I was with Ballyboden. I could go home to Dunboyne and there’s no-one asking you what’s going on.
17. "So when you’re doing the Meath thing and you’re from Meath and you
Kieran McGeeney's men suffered relegation from Division One on the final day of the League, Antrim know they'll be in for a battle in Saturday's Ulster SFC preliminary round.
McGeeney's side were relegated after a 2-1 loss to Down at the Oval on the final day of the season.
The Blues are coming into the preliminary round as underdogs against the top sides in the division, but they'll be looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Down in the first leg of their tie.
Antrim will be without key players such as David McMillan and Aaron Burns, who are both out with injury.
However, the Blues are still a strong side and will be looking to progress in the competition.
Continue Reading at Source : belfastlive