'No love lost' between Tyrone and Derry - Canavan

Tyrone great Peter Canavan acknowledges there will be "no love lost" when his county face Derry and anticipates a "very tasty game" when they meet in Saturday's Division Two encounter at Celtic Park [live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport NI website, 18:00 GMT].

Both sides harbour ambitions of an immediate return to Division One after suffering relegation last year, but neither managed to bank a victory in the opening round with Kildare snatching a draw against Tyrone, while Derry fell to Meath.

In a hugely competitive division, there is little margin for error and whichever of the pair comes away empty-handed this weekend will face an uphill battle to earn promotion.

Canavan - whose sons Darragh and Ruairi are part of the Red Hands squad - has plenty of experience of derby clashes with their neighbours and says this weekend's latest edition is another "big one" between the counties with so much on the line.

"With Tyrone in Division Two, every game is crucial if you are going to get promoted," the two-time All-Ireland winner told BBC Sport NI.

"Both teams would see themselves as Division One teams and the fact they are in Division Two wouldn't sit well with either, so it's a big one.

"Both teams badly want to get back up to Division One and if they lose, the chance of that is remote."

Malachy O'Rourke is in his second season at the helm with the Red Hands, while Ciaran Meenagh is back in Derry after taking interim charge during the 2023 campaign.

Despite Derry being without a win in league or championship since 2024, Canavan feels Meenagh may be in a slightly better position in terms of having a settled squad as O'Rourke seeks to integrate fresh faces into his panel.

"Derry might be a bit further down the line than Tyrone for this week's game," Canavan opined.

"For their championship games, I think you can say with confidence you could name 12 or 13 of the Derry starting team and you couldn't do that with Tyrone.

"Malachy's brought in a lot of really good younger players, but it's a case of putting all the pieces together to play a system that suits them.

"It was evident against Kildare in some quarters that Tyrone struggled and I would say Ciaran Meenagh is in a happier position, knowing what he has and knowing the players he has worked with before. It seems by and large he is going to stick with them."

While both teams will be eager to grab the all-important points and not insignificant bragging rights this weekend, Division One status does not carry the same weight now than in the past when surveying the bigger picture.

Previously, it was considered imperative to operate in the top tier if a county was to make a push for Sam Maguire later in the year, but Dublin's All-Ireland triumph in 2023 and Armagh's the following year both came after playing Division Two football.

Canavan feels that is down to "eight, nine, 10 really strong teams" all battling for eight Division One places which has lifted the overall competitiveness and he feels the race for Sam in 2026 is "wide open".

"Only eight teams can play in Division One, so some good teams are going to get relegated and that is the place we are at the minute.

"The fact Armagh came through and won an All-Ireland in the manner they did, Donegal isn't that far away, there are a number of team thinking 'if we get our act together, we've a chance of doing really well'.

"Leagues are tough, but the championship is wide open. There are five or six teams very much capable of winning Sam Maguire."