Rory Gallagher: 'If we play well, we'll win' - Derry boss on Clare quarter-final

Rory Gallagher's animated celebrations have been a feature of Derry's championship run this year

Derry manager Rory Gallagher says his side will beat Clare in Saturday's All-Ireland Football quarter-final if they produce their best form.

Gallagher says he has full respect for a Clare side he describes as "an established Division Two team".

"They have been very unfortunate to have been in Munster, drawing Kerry so often but we know what they about," said the Fermanagh man.

"We have to play well and if we play well, we'll win."

After their impressive march through Ulster as they saw off All-Ireland champions Tyrone, Monaghan and then Donegal in the provincial decider, Derry are certain to be favourites heading into the Croke Park test but unlike many managers, Gallagher is happy to embrace that mantle.

'We want to be favourites'

"We would like to become one of the top teams in the country. We would like to be favourites going into every match. That's our burning desire but in order to do that we've to earn the right by showing the desire against Clare.

"We beat three Division One teams and we came out of the hat against a Division Two team.

"After winning Ulster the way we did, I would expect us probably to have been favourites against any of them (their four possible opponents in the draw) but it means nothing.

"The same way that when Tyrone, Monaghan and Donegal were favourites against us, it meant nothing.

"It's all about who produces on the day and there's not much between any of the top 10 teams in Ireland with the exception of Dublin and Kerry who seem to be ahead of everybody else but that's not our problem at the minute."

Gallagher rejects the notion that Derry are now in 'bonus territory' after winning the Ulster Final

Gallagher utterly dismisses any notion that his team are now in 'bonus territory' after winning the county's first provincial title in 24 years.

"I don't believe for one minute that this is bonus territory. Last year I believed we should have beaten Donegal. I believed this year we were good enough to win Ulster. (But) It's never a given.

"We believe we're good enough to make an All-Ireland semi-final. We will be very disappointed if we don't produce the level of performance to do that.

"But that's up to ourselves and how we prepare and then we've got to bring the hunger and desire."

Asked whether this Derry team can win the county's second All-Ireland senior title, matching the feat of Eamon Coleman's Oak Leaf side in 1993, Gallagher insists he is only focused on reaching the semi-finals at this stage, which would see them facing either Armagh or Galway in the last four.

"Every player dreams of winning a provincial championship and then playing on All-Ireland Final day and winning it. We're no different than that.

"Manager and coaches, we're like big kids. We want to be there but for now we've got to stay very much in the present. Stay focused on the game against Clare. Respect them by respecting ourselves and hopefully we'll be in the semi-final."

'We won't be overawed by Croke'

Gallagher is confident his players will not be overawed by Saturday's Croke Park environment.

"We beat Tyrone. People were saying 'was that their Ulster Championship or All-Ireland Final'. We rolled with that and produced a phenomenal first-half display against Monaghan and then we rolled on to Donegal.

"We're very fortunate with the breeding they've got particularly in their clubs and their schools, that they are almost used to winning at different levels.

"But we never take anything for granted. We've only done well because we've stayed very grounded and stayed hardworking and as a collective. Providing we do that, I'm not worried at all."

Derry defeated Colm Collins' Clare side 2-13 to 0-10 in round four of the Division Two Football League campaign in late February but Gallagher says both sides have "changed a lot" over the past four months.

"That was also only four weeks after our (Slaughtneil) hurlers were playing in an All-Ireland semi-final and it was almost like a pre-season competition. It's a totally different sport now."

Niall Loughlin scored Derry's goal in the Ulster Final victory over Donegal but was forced off early in the second half by a back spasm

Gallagher confident Loughlin will be fit

Gallagher says he allowed his players to celebrate for a couple of days "within reason" after the Ulster Final victory over Donegal before they got back to work on "the Wednesday or Thursday".

"We went out as a group even after the Tyrone game. We had two weeks until the next game.

"You play football to have good days and you have to enjoy those good days.

"It was a brilliant couple of days. The players loved it but they also loved getting back to training. It's a strange dynamic. They love celebrating but they love getting back to it."

Gallagher is optimistic that forward Niall Loughlin will be available for selection after a back spasm forced his withdrawal in the early part of the second half of the Ulster Final.

"To be fair to the medical team, they pre-empted that he was going to spasm up at half-time once he stopped and we had a bike in the dressing-room but it still did. Hopefully with the longer rest and recovery period, he seems to be good to go at this point."

Slaughtneil's Padraig Cassidy was ruled out of the Ulster Final by a knock but also is expected to be contention for selection this weekend.