McShea's Say: Donegal at a crucial juncture and they have to act fast

Donegal’s performance in Hyde Park on Sunday was another dismal one. 

I would have to say - without being too critical - the players also need to examine their conscience here. They felt that Paddy Carr wasn’t the solution to Donegal’s problems but the opportunity and incentive in Roscommon was to perform - to produce a reaction. 

But what we got was probably the poorest Donegal performance we’ve seen in quite a number of years. It was simply terrible. There were little to no positives to take from Sunday. 

The big question is, where do we go from here? I still firmly believe there are enough proud Donegal people within the county that we might see one or two individuals step forward and attempt to put some kind of structure in place. 

Fergus McGee has been left in a very unenviable position. But if I were him I’d be talking to the likes of Martin McHugh. I don’t know if it’s likely or possible that Karl Lacey or Jim Guinness are in positions to offer quick fixes - for a variety of reasons. 

But we are in a time of extreme crisis and we're out on a limb here. But those men all care enough about Donegal that some structure could be put in place in the lead-in to Down. But time is ticking. 

All isn’t lost. In an ideal world Martin is the man I’d like to see take the reins in the short term. And if the Donegal job is to be made an attractive proposition to others long term, then changes at a higher level are simply going to have to be made. 

I was lucky enough to be in Killybegs on Saturday where a huge crowd turned up for Joe McBrearty’s fundraising game, ‘Play for Joe’. That is the real power of the GAA in Donegal. What’s going on elsewhere within the county at the minute; we really do need to take a good, hard look at ourselves. 

The numbers that made it down to Fintra at the weekend, it was a real tonic. It did the heart good. I’ve a great affinity with Killybegs and they're a great club. Watching all the legends like Michael Murphy, Manus Boyle and Michael Hegarty, to name but only a few, share the pitch was simply brilliant. 

Speaking to others before, during and after, I’ve no doubt that there is still great pride out there in our county team. For that reason, the midnight oil must burn now as we’re less than four weeks out from Down and Newry. 

At the time of writing, we still don’t know if Aidan O’Rourke and Paddy Bradley are going to remain in place. O’Rourke certainly didn’t sound like a man that wanted to hold onto the reins when speaking in Hyde Park after the Roscommon game. 

Regardless of any of the above specualtion on my behalf, I’ve no doubt that if you managed to get the likes of McHugh, Lacey, Anthony Molloy, Michael Murphy and Jim McGuinness into one room, they’d find some kind of solution. 

They - as a unit - would be persuasive enough to find the best and quickest fix to get us though the next three or four weeks. They have that hands-on experience and they’d be coming from a place of good. They want the best for Donegal football. 

With all due respect to the executive - there aren’t too many of them with the expertise those guys have that’s needed to get that sorted as quickly as possible. And I’m not having a go at the executive with that observation. 

And there is a solid correlation between structure and finance. If we could get someone of real repute and a profile to come on board as senior team boss, I’ve no doubt Donegal supporters would stand up and be counted when it comes to finance and backing the team. Sponsorship opportunities would also fall into line if the right people were involved.  

Last Tuesday night, a special county committee was held to attempt to deal with the Academy saga. From what I’ve heard there was a lot of blood letting. That was disappointing but not surprising. 

On one hand the county executive issued a statement about Karl Lacey’s ability and input - how great it was. And now attempts are rightly going to be made to entice him back. So how exactly did it come to the situation where, a few short months ago, he was asked to apologise for voicing a legitimate concern that things could potentially unravel if lines of communication weren’t improved between both himself and the executive? 

The absolute inconsistency of the whole thing is hard to fathom.

The other decision made at that meeting, one that I simply can’t wrap my head around, is the fact that a training camp at Carlton House, at a cost of €35,000, has been rubber stamped. I believe it was also mentioned on the night that Donegal - in the midst of all the recent turmoil - hadn’t raised one red cent in 2023. 

So I ask where is the logic in such an expenditure? We have a state-of-the-art facility in Convoy with some of the best hotels in the country in close proximity. If Donegal have that kind of money to spend - and I’m not sure they do - then it should be spent in Donegal. 

We could probably cut that cost of €35,000 away down if we did base ourselves near to home. It was late when this decision was passed, well after midnight, but I still feel it was a crazy thing for county committee to pass. 

Hotellers in this county are approached quite liberally to support Donegal GAA. And they’ve never been found wanting. So I feel very strongly that the above, for quite a few reasons, is a very flawed decision.