McGuinness very pleased with his Donegal charges in win over Roscommon

"We're very happy with it to be honest," was the immediate reaction of Jim McGuinness, speaking after watching his Donegal side begin his second spell as manager with a competitive win.

McGuinness was very relaxed with the 2-12 to 2-6 win, and he was also happy with the new surface at the Fr Tierney Park in Ballyshannon. He agreed that Donegal had a good record there as well as in Ballybofey and he stressed the need for Donegal to make home games county.

But while he looked extremely pleased  with the showing of his new-look side, he also said there was plenty to work on.

“Obviously first day out there are going to be some cobwebs in there but in terms of their application and their workrate and their handling and everything, we would have to be happy.

“Obviously the penalty (to Roscommon) kind of changed the scoreline a wee bit towards the end but then we managed to claw another goal back.

“No it was very good – really happy and positive – and a good wee building block," said McGuinness.

The manager said the game was the first of a number of outings for his side as he prepares for the Dr McKenna Cup and the Allianz National League.

“It's lovely to be here in Aodh Ruadh to open the new pitch for them and we have a couple of games coming up now over the next month or so.”

“It's something that everyone is trying to do."

As regards tactics during the game, he said they were working hard on trying to transition from the back to  the front quickly, something he said he felt Donegal had lacked in recent seasons.

“Possession is king and we tried to work hard to make sure that it wasn't for Roscommon and we went high on them and we asked questions on their kick-out, and obviously in the tackle, is another great opportunity to win the ball and break.

McGuinness's Donegal get off to winning start against Roscommon

Jim McGuinness, in his second term, was very happy with his charges as they overcame Roscommon in a challenge at Fr Tierney Park with six points to spare

“We managed to do that a lot today. Now we lost the ball a lot ourselves coming out with it but first day out we can't be too critical.

“There were a lot of boys playing there for the first time so we can't be too critical.

“I thought Ciaran Moore did very well on his debut and worked very hard throughout.

“Shane O'Donnell was very good on the ball and he kicked two points from play so there were a lot of positives with people coming back in or starting off on the journey in their intercounty career.

“Oisin Caulfield in the middle of the park. He's a half-forward or a half-back but he played in there (midfield) today but battled away against bigger men.”

“We will try and get the building blocks going first and foremost. That's why I was happy with today.

“It wasn't perfect today but the attitude was very good and the togetherness was good and they worked hard for each other.

“I felt they brought the game to Roscommon very well in the second half.

“The running game started coming into it a wee bit more so there were a lot of positives in terms of the values that you are looking for in the second half," said McGuinness.