'Dangerous' Down preparing to throw kitchen at Donegal - Jim McGuinness

Jim McGuinness says Down will fancy taking a real cut at Donegal in Letterkenny and that the Mourne County have real potential to trouble the Ulster champions. 

The Glenties native knows opposite number Conor Laverty well and that shrewdness and, indeed, pride along the line, will mean that he’ll have quietly been working away on what he feels is a match-winning game plan. 

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“Down had a brilliant campaign last year,” McGuinness explained. “They pushed some massive teams, like Galway, to the pin of their collar. 

“We know what we’re going to get from them.  We played them last year as well, had a very tough battle. 

“They are a very powerful running team. They have a goalkeeper there (Ronan Burns ) that is really quick out with the ball, and really accurate at the same time. He asks so many questions of teams. 

“For me, they have a lad in the middle of the field that is probably in the top two or three in the country, Odhran Murdock. He’s an exceptional footballer. 

“He can do a bit of everything. He’s two-footed and just offers them so much. Up front, they have  lot of obvious quality and pace in the likes of Pat Havern. So they bring a lot to the table”.

The Division 3 champions did give Donegal bother in last season’s provincial semi-final. In the end, McGuinness’ side progressed through thanks to a 1-19 to 0-16 victory in Clones. 

But having come up from Division 3 as champions, the stealth of the lower relms of the NFL will have allowed Down to have completely zoned in on Donegal from way out. 

“They will probably look at us as a free hit. They’ll see it as a massive opportunity to come down the road and really get stuck into us. 

“The one thing my own playing career taught me is that the Ulster championship is about just one day. 

“And if you’re lucky enough to navigate that, it then becomes about the next day. That’s the way you simply have to approach it. 

“And that’s the same way it’s been throughout my managerial career as well. We are focused on Down and delivering a level of performance. And please god that will be enough”.