Mac's View: All roads lead to Castlebar for Donegal v Clare this Saturday

We will all be on the road to Castlebar on Saturday and I expect that Donegal supporters will travel again in big numbers as Donegal take on Clare with a 3 o’clock throw-in.

With the game not available on TV, I expect there will be great interest in being there and there will also be a big listenership for Ocean FM and Highland Radio.

The game is one that Donegal will be expected to win but people should be warned, this will not be a piece of cake. Clare are a serious team and will provide stubborn opposition. Remember Cork only managed to defeat them by two points in Cusack Park,  Ennis in the opening round game. I know they had their big midfielder Bohannon red carded late on against Tyrone in Omagh and I haven’t heard if they lodged an appeal. I assume he will be absent.

But then we have our own worries in that area of the field with the injury to big Jason McGee. If he is not fit to play a part, he would be a big loss. But then again we can’t afford to take chances with him; this is championship.

But at the same time, we have plenty of experience in the camp and we should be able to get by without McGee, if that is what pans out.

The last day out against Cork down in Pairc Ui Rinn, nearly everything militated against us. And yet despite being five points down, we came back and probably deserved a draw.

On Saturday, all eyes will also be simultaneously on the clash of Tyrone and Cork, which takes place at the same time in Tullamore. We will be hoping for a narrow Tyrone win and they are capable of doing us a favour.

In the game in Castlebar against Clare, we have enough experience at this stage to take us through. But I cannot understate the need to not take the game lightly.

There always has been good Gaelic footballers in Clare and especially in West Clare. But we have been playing well. We played well at periods against Cork but may have run out of gas. But, as I mentioned, there were mitigating circumstances, the short turnaround, the long journey south and we were turned over too often. I would be confident that will not happen this time around.

We have much better preparation this time around and we have had two weeks to prepare. The rest will have helped Jim McGuinness with his preparation. We should be in good shape for Saturday. I don’t expect that Jim will shuffle the pack too much. There is a very good possibility that Tyrone can beat Cork, which would mean we would know what we have to do, win by three points more than the Tyrone margin over Cork.

I have heard that Conor O’Donnell of Carndonagh was back in contention and it would be great to see him included in the match day squad. The word on the ground is that he is going well and the infusion of fresh blood would be another great boost to the squad.

We have a very settled look about our team at the moment and at the same time we have good players on the bench who are used to coming in and doing a job.

But I again reiterate, the main thing is that we don’t underestimate Clare. This is a sticky Clare team and also a physically strong team. They know that a win for them would put them back in the hunt. Clare have really developed over the past 10  years with Colm Collins doing great work and keeping them competitive.

We have to be at our best from the start. I would be confident of a win. We have a good record against them, losing only once in a league game in Ennis back in 1983.

Back in our big year of 1992, Clare were one of the best teams in the country and won a Munster title that year. They came to Donegal to play us in a challenge at the opening of Naomh Brid’s pitch two weeks before the All-Ireland final. We met them again in Croke Park a year later in a league semi-final and also in 1995 in Castlebar in a league quarter-final. That was a very good Clare team and we were put to the pin of our collar to beat them.

GREAT RESULT FOR LADIES

Congratulations to John McNulty and the Ladies team on getting a great result against Kerry in MacCumhaill Park on Sunday. They had to battle back in very difficult playing conditions and fair play to them, they never threw in the towel and deserved their draw.

Commiserations to the minors on losing out to Kildare on Saturday but they also put everything they had into the game and were missing a number of key players.

NEW RULES

Finally this week, I had a great read through the proposed new rules for the game of football on Tuesday and on first thought, they make for very interesting reading. I know that Jim Gavin, the former Dublin manager, is heading the committee and our own Michael Murphy is also one of those involved, as is former Mayo manager, James Horan.

There are a couple of trial matches planned and among the new rules being trialled include a 40 yard arc from which a score from outside would be worth two points. Also a goal would be worth four points; only two players contest the throw-in and a team has to keep three players in the back line at all times. A clock is also to be used for timing. Those trial games  will be worth watching.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell