Ryan McHugh says it's time Donegal 'walk the walk'

No ifs, buts or maybes-and that is the firm view of one Ryan McHugh, one of its brightest stars as he looks ahead to a very tough opening Allianz League Division 1 fixture with Mayo in Markievicz this weekend.

McHugh and his colleagues have painful memories of the mauling they got on a wet August evening in Castlebar in 2019 in the Super Eights.

But the two time All Star in 2016 and 2018 and Young Footballer Of The Year in 2014 is convinced that Donegal must “get over the line” this year, having not featured in an All-Ireland semi-final in eight years.

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Tickets will not be available to buy at Markievicz Park in Sligo on Sunday

“It is something that we have been looking at and trying to find a way to take the next step,” McHugh told DonegalLive. “ I don’t think we are doing a lot wrong. I think it is just a matter of getting it right on the day and even when we are not at our best, just grinding out a victory and luck has not been with us.

“It can be the luck of the draw and that can happen any team, but I think it has time that we walked the walk. ”We like many other counties have talked the talk but we need to start producing things.

“You don’t want to be the team that is saying every year that we nearly could or should have won something. We need to firstly produce it night after night on the training ground.

“Every night you are trying to prove yourself at training, whether that is one, two or 50 per cent. And hopefully then you can take that into game time.

“As I say we are ticking a lot of boxes up in Donegal but we need to be producing it on the biggest day in the year”.

For three of the past four years Donegal have failed at the final hurdle after winning two Ulster titles on the trot and appearing in three consecutive finals.

Tyrone turned them over in their own backyard in Ballybofey in 2018, while Mayo outmuscled them in wet conditions in Castlebar a year later.

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And then Cavan sprung a real shocker on them in the Ulster final of 2020 while All-Ireland champions Tyrone edged them out in last year’s Ulster championship at the semi-final stage. So, what do Donegal need to take the next overdue big step?

And they still rely heavily on Michael Murphy who is now in his 16th year in a Donegal jersey, as the captain’s second half cameo in the Dr McKenna Cup showed on Saturday night.

“Michael is a top- class person and a top- class professional the way he looks after his body all year long,” McHugh said. “ Michael just wants to play football and to represent Donegal every chance he can get and the McKenna Cup and NFL are part of it. There is no better professional in Ireland”.

But it is of little consolation to McHugh and Donegal that their conquerors Tyrone went on to win last year’s All-Ireland title.

“I suppose that gives us a wee bit of hope but there was no guarantee that If we had got over them that we would go on to win the All-Ireland title,” he said. “They did what they had to do, and they are worthy All-Ireland champions.

“I suppose in Donegal we have to take the positives from it. In the past few years, we have always been very competitive against Tyrone. But it is taking that extra step that counts.

With his youthful mien it is hard to believe that this will be the 10th season in the Tír Chonaill jersey for the gifted 27-year-old. The years have flown in flash, but the lithe and lean McHugh still has a savage appetite for the game and is adamant that Donegal need to deliver this year.

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Neil McGee, Hugh McFadden, Stephen McMenamin and Oisin Gallen have yet to see action in 2022.

“I made my debut in 2013 playing at corner-back and marking Conor Laverty of Down so that was an interesting introduction under lights in Ballybofey,” McHugh recalled. “It is hard to believe, and it still feels just like yesterday.

“That was a tough enough baptism and Down were going reasonably well that time having played Donegal in the Ulster final the previous year. Jim McGuinness and Rory Gallagher trusted me at the time, and I am grateful for that”.

And the accolades have flowed in the interim as he approaches the “veteran” stage.

“Time waits for nobody and this is my 10h season, but Donegal is very lucky that we have a lot of good young players coming through and they have got run outs in the Dr McKenna Cup,” McHugh said. “I watched the LYIT and UL Sigerson match and there were quite a few Donegal players in major roles too.

“It is a credit to Aaron Kyles and Karl Lacey for the great work they have done in the various Academies. We are seeing the rewards and hopefully that can continue as you do need a conveyor belt of talent coming through”.

“The Michael Murphy’s and the Neil McGees aren’t going to be around forever so you need other players coming through all the time to strengthen the squad”.

McHugh had his first competitive match against Derry in the Dr McKenna Cup semi-final last week and is just happy to be back playing again.

“I took a few weeks off and was back in training for the last few weeks,” he added. “But you can have all the training you want, but it is all about game time and getting good competitive games and that is exactly what we got against Derry.

“That was a good test in underfoot conditions but was good preparation for the match against Mayo at the weekend”.

“Those games are important for the likes of me and other boys who are just getting back into it. But the NFL is the big one and I really look forward to it as a player and a supporter as well. Covid has hit the NFL in the past few years and now we are back to the normal format.

“It is a great competition to be involved in all over the and the format means the teams are well matched. Division One has always been very competitive matches and you get really good contests, and you rarely see any annihilations.

“It is where we want to be, competing at the highest level and Division One is the highest level. We need to challenge ourselves against the very best in the country and that all starts on Sunday against Mayo in Markievicz.

“They always give you a good battle and have a lot of exciting new players coming through as well. And we will know a lot more about ourselves after the match in Sligo”.

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“But you don’t want to be known as the team that is competitive in a top match. You want to be known as the team that is competitive and actually win those big matches. That is something we are going to be focusing on this year. You don’t want to be sitting here next year saying oh we had chances, we had chances. We want to be sitting here next year saying we have taken our chances.”