McShea's Say: Donegal have to win in Clones, it’s that simple

Sunday’s NFL outing in Clones - where Donegal face a Monaghan side who have lost their two opening matches in the NFL - is a huge opportunity on a number of fronts. 

Monaghan are in dire need of points but so are Donegal. After what could best be described as a most disappointing display last time out against Tyrone when there were few reasons to be positive, a much-improved performance will be required. 

Even when Donegal were going very well, they seemed to bring the best out of Monaghan teams and Vinney Corey their manager, who was a great competitor in the white and blue jersey, will have his team wired up in a big way for this outing. 

If Monaghan are beaten they will be favourites to head for Division 2. One could be fanciful and surmise that either team could have won three or four Ulster titles in a row if the standard of football was not so exceptionally high in Ulster a few short years ago. 

Both sides had players of much skill and at times the games were quite physical, but Gaelic football is a physical game and to their credit both Donegal and Monaghan dealt with the situation as they met it.

Things have changed for both counties recently and the common denominator between the sides is that they are both currently in transition. They have lost some of their best warriors to retirement and the jury is still out in both counties regarding the ability of the new young players that managers Carr and Corey have promoted to senior football. 

The coming weeks will answer that question as the opposition in Division 1 is comprised of the best seven teams in the country with, of course, the exception of Dublin and Derry.

Monaghan may still decide to go without Conor McManus on Sunday. McManus is a true great and arguably the best player to ever wear the Monaghan jersey. He is still an exceptional talent. He is simply the total package. 

If he is in fact not involved on Sunday, he will be a serious loss to his team. Conor is also a top-class striker of the dead ball and looking at our game against Tyrone, Donegal badly need a player to become proficient in this vital area of the game, especially from the left side of the pitch. 

As preparation for Sunday’s game continues, there is positive news about the availability of some of our injured players. Michael Langan and Oisin Gallen may be available for Clones and if so, it will be a real boost to Donegal’s prospects of a second league victory. 

Oisin has had a really difficult time with injuries since he first emerged as a player of genuine ability and one who I expect to play a major role in Donegal’s quest for honours in the coming years. 

For one so young he is already the type of player that if you were two points down with a minute left you would be confident that if you could get the ball to him he would make something happen. 

Langan has already shown his quality in championship football. Michael is extremely powerful and is excellent under the dropping ball. Like Oisin, he has not enjoyed much fun when it comes to injuries. But if he can remain injury free, he will be an outstanding outlet for Shaun Patton’s radar like goal kicks. 

I remember when Meath were winning All-Irelands their understated manager Sean Boylan was not happy with his team’s return from free kicks. Boylan contacted Ollie Campbell who was the Ireland Rugby team’s goal kicker at that time and he took Campbell on board to coach Brian Stafford, the Meath teams placekicker who would subsequently become a serious contributor to his team’s score board haul.

Paddy Carr could do worse than engage someone like Manus Boyle or Martin McHugh to impart their knowledge to some Donegal forwards in this critical area of modern football. A quick look at the odds for Sunday’s match sees Monaghan as marginal favourites at even money while Donegal are quoted at 11/10.

Those statistics suggest that it will be a very close encounter. Despite our subpar performance in Omagh, I expect Donegal to win in Clones and if so the two league points on offer will never be more valuable.

New county chairman Fergus McGee, who is a top-class Gael, is unfortunate that the difficulty regarding the Donegal Academy has emerged at this time as he just begins to familiarise himself with the many strands involved in leading the county board. 

All Donegal GAA followers will hope that a quick and positive solution to the fallout can be found as soon as possible before it disintegrates even further.