McGuinness confident rules will settle and football will have more of a synced feel

Jim McGuinness says the slightly chaotic nature of the early rounds of the NFL will soon settle and a more rhythmic pattern will develop. 

The FRC’s new rules and how Gaelic football managers are interpreting them are still is a real state of flux. 

But the Donegal boss says there will be a more universal pattern to games by the time the latter stages of the NFL come around. 

Donegal finally got their Division 1 season up and running last weekend with a 0-20 to 0-16 win over Dublin in Ballybofey. 

This Saturday, they’ll go to Killarney to fulfil their opening round fixture against Kerry - a game that fell foul to the weather a fortnight ago. 

On the slightly manic spectacles we’re currently being treated to, McGuinness says it’ll be a much more refined product by the start of Championship. 

“I think you’ll see over the next couple of months teams getting good at what’s being asked of them, if that makes sense,” he said.

“From our point of view, it’s the first night out so the kicking wasn’t good, the touch wasn’t good, but over the course of seven games the actual product will get a lot better.

“What we know is it is more intensive, it is more transitional, so when teams get better in transition, better at finishing off moves, you’ll get closer to that model - and that’s always the case at this time of year anyway.

“I would say you’re talking the last round or two of the League, start of the Championship, before you actually see the product that it’s going to be, which is going to be very fast-paced, very dynamic, very transitional.

“There’s going to be a massive adjustment here, in terms of what works and what doesn’t work tactically.”

Donegal had led 0-11 to 0-6 at the changeover on Saturday night but nine wides would have really grated the manager. 

It left the door ajar for the Dubs and they came agonisingly close to crossing its threshold on a number of occasions in the second period.

They were back on Donegal coattails, within a point of parity, on three occasions but a late flurry meant the hosts had four to spare at the end of what had been a nervy MacCumhaill Park climax. 

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“There was a point in it with seven or eight minutes gone in the second half and you’re looking at the scoreboard, looking at the wind, looking at the confidence of the Dublin players thinking this could be a long second half if they tag on a couple of scores.

“So from that point they managed to get vital turnovers, interceptions, then showed very good composure at the other end. Oisin Gallen stepped up, kicked some big scores into the wind, so that would be the most pleasing point.

“To be fair to the boys, that was a big part of it for us last year. I remember up there against Armagh last year, then in the Ulster final, we were four points down twice… the only game that didn’t happen last year was the semi-final.

“Whenever we do get into a jam, they normally do try to hold the head and work their way through it.”