JOHN Cleary is not getting carried away despite Cork footballers’ strong start to their Division 2 national league campaign.

The Rebels lead the way, boasting a perfect record after the opening two rounds, backing up the come-from-behind home victory against Cavan with a more convincing win away against Louth last weekend.

Only Cork and Meath have a 100 percent record after two rounds, with All-Ireland semi-finalists Tyrone having just one point on the board.

‘Every two points is going to be very hard fought,’ Cork boss Cleary stated.

‘We saw in Derry v Tyrone, it went down to the last kick. We went down to the last kick the first day. Games will be going like that. Any day you eke out a win, you’ll take it and move on to the next day.

‘It doesn’t get any easier. We have a break now and then it’s three tough weeks, the same as any other team in Division 2. It’s a tough division, we got off to the start we would have hoped for but a long way to go yet.’

Next up is an away trip to Offaly on February 15th, followed by the visit of Meath and an away journey to Derry, on successive weekends.

‘In Division 2, all these games are big games. They’re pressure games, particularly when you’re travelling away,’ Cleary said, reflecting on the away win in Louth that means Cork have, for the first time, won their opening two games in Division 2.

‘It was a long journey up. There was a big crowd with them being Leinster champions. Let nobody forget that.

‘We’re delighted to go toe-to-toe with them. We thought our preparations were good going into the game against Cavan. We weren’t overly happy with the performance but very happy with the result.

‘We were determined to put on a performance against Louth and thank God, it came through.’

Cork midfielder Colm O’Callaghan added: ‘We controlled the game very well in the last ten or 15 minutes. We had a good bit of possession and were very calm on the ball. It’s great to see the likes of Dara Sheedy and Conor Daly coming in and adding a bit of calmness. You just can’t teach that. They’re two naturals really and it’s great to blood them in the league.’