There is still nothing to motivate a team quite like criticism. Derry were written off and lambasted after their Ulster semi-final defeat to Monaghan and that, says long-serving defender Seán Marty Lockhart, was probably what they needed to hear to get their season back on track.

They returned with a vengeance to beat Armagh and Mayo in the qualifiers, and if they come through Saturday's third-round against Laois, Derry will undoubtedly prove formidable opposition for any of the provincial champions in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

"After the Monaghan game I don't think too many people expected us to overcome Armagh, let alone Mayo," says Lockhart. "You do get very despondent any time you get beaten. We expected to get to the Ulster final, but they totally out-played us. But Monaghan are an improved team, and things happened in that game that we just weren't expecting, like Paddy Bradley and Enda Muldoon not scoring up to half-time. But we've learned from that, changed the team around, and I think deserved our last two victories.

"We also took a lot of flak this year, some of it deserved, and some undeserved. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, and at county level you will be analysed by the media, and you have to take that criticism. But we've used that as motivation to turn our year around. Some of the insults have been very personal, and that's undeserved, because at the end of the day you're an amateur. The only way you can use it is as motivation to improve, and that's what we've done. We proved against Armagh that we are a decent team."

Among their critics was their former star, Anthony Tohill, who reckoned Derry had a tendency to over-celebrate certain victories, when in reality they'd nothing won. Lockhart didn't dismiss that, and manager Paddy Crozier has gone to great lengths to keep the feet on the ground after the Armagh and Mayo wins.

"Well in 2001 and again in 2004 we went quite far in the back door, got to the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway, and Kerry. But still we didn't win anything, and at the end of the day that's what you're measured on. And if Laois beat us everyone will forget about the Armagh and Mayo games fairly quick. I think players realise that now. We've a lot more experience, and players want to win something.

"So we want to get back to All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, but Laois are the only team we're thinking about at the moment. If teams become too ambitious you can be caught on the hop.

"We played Laois in Croke Park two years ago and they completely played us off the field. Laois are a better team than some people think, and ran Dublin close. They play at a very high intensity and that's always hard to compete against."

Derry, however, have definitely improved in recent weeks, with Lockhart part of a much-improved defence built around the impervious full back and captain Kevin McCloy. Younger players like Colin Devlin are also stepping up to the mark.

"We have rejigged the whole team, and that has worked dividends. It's always more carefree in the qualifiers, and we've played some of our better football there. It's very hard for any team to put four or five good performances back to back. I think Tyrone are about the only team that can do that. Every team dips during the course of the year, but teams like Kerry can still pull through. We're not like that."

Having recently turned 30, Lockhart knows time is running out on his chances for glory, but he's far from giving up yet.

"It's all about appetite, and enjoyment, and at the minute I've got that. When I lose that it's definitely time to retire."