McKeever denies Armagh have become more defensive

Oisin McConville believes the Armagh management have set up the team in a more defensive manner this year

Armagh coach and selector Ciaran McKeever has denied the claim that the relegated county's playing system has become more defensive this year.

Oisin McConville believes the team has been set up more defensively in 2023 but McKeever strongly disagrees.

"I don't think so. If you look at any of our games last year, we set up exactly the same way," said McKeever.

"We probably were just a little bit more efficient with the ball in hand last year.

"We showed glimpses of that (being more efficient with the ball) against Tyrone (on Sunday) and in the first half of the game against Roscommon and in Kerry.

"We just haven't been at it for 70 minutes yet but we'll get there," added the Armagh coach at Monday evening's Ulster Football Championship launch held in Palace Demesne in Armagh City.

The Orchard County face Antrim in the Ulster preliminary-round tie at the Athletic Grounds on 8 April.

Oisin McConville had led Wicklow to promotion in his first year of inter-county management but has played down suggestions that he might manage his native Armagh in the future

Former Armagh great McConville said on BBC Sport Northern Ireland's The GAA Social last week that it was his belief that Kieran McGeeney's management team had opted to change the side's approach this year.

"In the last four or five years, Armagh have been involved in some of the most entertaining games that gaelic football has probably ever seen and yet they've won nothing," said the 2002 All-Ireland winner.

"I think that maybe Armagh have looked at it......management have looked at it and said 'hold on a second…..we're coughing up too many scores. We need to minimise that'.

"Obviously when you do that it affects what's going on at the top end of the pitch."

Armagh's campaign included the ultimately very damaging 1-8 to 1-6 home defeat by Galway 10 days ago while they managed only 11 points as they were edged out by the minimum against All-Ireland champions Kerry in round four in addition to scoring 0-13 when narrowly beating also relegated Donegal.

However, the Orchard men did hit 0-17 as they fought back to notch a home draw with Mayo in round two while their 16-point tally against Tyrone would have won many games.

In an apparent quip aimed at McConville, McKeever added: "Armagh will have some boys putting their CV in for the management team when it comes up. I know that much."

McConville guided Wicklow to promotion from Division Four on Sunday and is inevitably regarded as a future Armagh manager by many.

However, the BBC Sport NI GAA podcast co-presenter recently played down that suggestion in one of The GAA Social editions.