Brendan McCole looking at the bigger picture with Donegal

Brendan McCole says Donegal will take plenty of pluses out of their two McKenna Cup outings even if both clashes ultimately ended in defeat. 

The pre-season competition serves a purpose of sorts, and it especially does when a new management team has just been put in place. 

And there is no doubt that there were shoots of improvement from Donegal’s efforts against Down in Newry to what they mustered on Wednesday night when Monaghan came to Ballybofey.   

“Defeats are never in the plan but the bigger picture is that a number of lads have definitely put their hands up in the last week or so,” said McCole. “They’ve got competitive minutes under their belts, they’ve got that little taste for it now. 

“We’ve a lot to work on. We’re trying to play ‘on the front foot’ football. I think we battled a lot better there tonight than we did in Down. Still, there is a lot that is out of your control on a night like that with the rain and the ground the way it was”. 

McCole says with some recent upheaval in terms of retirements and a managerial shake-up, Donegal are still very much in the midst of a gelling process. But, he adds, that concentrated workload is all geared towards being ready for what is a huge NFL opener against Kerry on January 29 in Ballybofey.   

“We’ve had a number of really good weeks in terms of training, gelling the squad and even getting to know the management team even better. I think lads are certainly putting their hands up. 

“This is the time of the year to try things out. We have some really good experience and quality to come back into the mix. Kerry is right around the corner. The target is to get off to a good start. It’s about getting the heads down now and gearing our energies towards that”. 

He added: “Division 1 football is at a serious level now. And that’s always where you want to be. It’s another jump up in quality. But it’s a gradual build. And we’re moving towards that. We’ve a big few weeks in front of us.”

Donegal go into all of that without two of the county’s greatest ever players and indeed leaders in the forms of Michael Murphy and Neil McGee.

McCole says there are learnings to still be taken from the manner in which that retired pair of legends went about their business in taking youngsters under their wing and easing them through the often turbulent early stages of the intercounty breakthrough.  

“Without even realising it you kinda take on that little bit more responsibility with each passing year. Michael and Neil, they are two of the best ever to do it for Donegal. And we still have some fantastic experience in that dressing room with the likes of Hugh McFadden, Paddy McBrearty and Ryan McHugh to name just a few. 

“And seeing the likes of Luke McGlynn, Keelan Dunleavy and Kieran Tobin coming in, you just try to talk them through it. We’ve all been there. Everyone starts somewhere and the last few weeks, those lads making their debuts at this level, it’ll mean so much to them all”.