In his debut series of articles for The Season Ticket, Chris Coady previews every team competing in the 2020 Allianz Football League.
In this edition, he looks ahead to what we can expect from Division 3 this spring.
Cork
Having had a disastrous league outing last year the rebels showed this to be just a blip in the road as they more than made up for this in Championship with a solid string of performance in the Super 8s.
A return to Division 2 is very likely for the Rebels.
One to watch - Brian Hurley
Tipperary
Finishing rock bottom of division 2 last time out set the tone for a disappointing season for the Premier County.
They may feel a step to be a step above the rest of the teams in Division 3 but for manager Liam Kearns, this year will be about getting back that winning mentality that saw them reach an All-Ireland semi-final in 2016.
One to watch - Conor Sweeney
Down
The Mourne men fell short in their search for Division 2 football last time and this time it’ll be very hard to stop them in their bid for promotion. I can see them ending the campaign in the top two, with a right crack at some early season silverware.
One to watch - Kevin McKernan
Longford
The Slashers come into Division 3 having conquered the mighty Dubs already in 2020 and although it may have been a pre-season competition, confidence will have surely been taken from this outing.
They’ll have enough to retain their Division 3 status and throw their weight around the group.
One to watch - Kevin Diffley
Louth
Louth gave a good account of themselves last year in Division 3 with a top half finish which would’ve surpassed some expectations, but with stronger teams dropping down into the league I can’t see them repeating this feat again.
One to watch - Ryan Burns
Offaly
Having just avoided the drop last year and with two strong sides in Leitrim and Derry coming up it's going to be a tough task for Offaly to survive this time around.
Relegation threatens the faithful county.
One to watch - Eoin Carroll
Leitrim
Having chosen not to acquire the services of star forward Emlyn Mulligan, it’s hard to see Leitrim going places this year without their main source of scoring threat.
They also come into the league off the back of a 30-point hammering to neighbours Roscommon. A tough year beckons for them.
One to watch - James Rooney
Derry
Having topped the pile and taken the Division 4 title, Derry will come into the third tier with high hopes of causing an upset and of course avoiding the dreaded drop and return to the county’s lowest level of inter-county football.
One to watch - Brendan Rodgers
Chris Coady