McShea's say: Championship season is upon us

It is hard to believe that the search for Sam Maguire and the Liam McCarthy Cup begins this weekend, but with the hurling and football finals scheduled for July it is going to be an exceptionally busy few months in every province.

In Donegal and in most other counties, players will have the public to answer to should things not go right over the coming weeks and hopefully months. It has been an emotional few years for a panel of players who have brought their followers some joy, mixed with heartache and many moments of footballing brilliance.

Armagh's Rian O'Neill cleared to face Donegal in Ulster SFC - reports

The Crossmaglen Rangers forward was handed a proposed one-match ban for his part in the after-match fracas in Letterkenny but Armagh have won their appeal

This championship is the culmination of all those hard nights and hot days training to be the best. The players have come together for months to work, sweat, and dream, as have their management team who at this stage know each other well and will have worked extremely hard to make sure the preparation was perfect.

No doubt the attention to detail has verged on obsessiveness. While nearly every county leaves their county men without club football for around a month before the championship because of the fear of injury, I believe that there is a strong case to be made to let players play for their clubs as some of the squad who have not enjoyed good league form, may have their confidence shot, and playing club football would allow them to get a most important boost in confidence.

Two weeks should be sufficient to ensure injuries are at a minimum, but Donegal have lost players to injury in the minutes before throw-in at league matches, so there is no rocket science involved in this area of preparation.
Donegal manager Declan Bonner will use every get together to motivate his squad in the final days of preparation for the visit of Armagh.

He will speak from the heart, saying that the fifteen who run out on Sunday week with the jerseys have a great honour, and that there are 15 or 16 other lads who would kill to be putting on that starting jersey in 10 days’ time. Over the coming days meetings will be held to again go through tactics, flip charts will be used, and roles will be reconfirmed.

No doubt Bonner will also insist that if Donegal win in Ballybofey he will ask that the celebrations be muted, they shouldn’t come off the field like they had won the All Ireland.

The tens of thousands of Donegal supporters don’t want to stop believing that this could be their year. When the team gets to the dressing room on Sunday week, thoughts will be focusing, and the adrenal glands will be working overtime.
Each player will have his own way of fighting the demons in the final few minutes before the knock on the door. Some will sit and breathe deeply, senior players will gee up the younger players, chests and backs will be pounded, and one or even two players may feel ill.

Before an Ulster final some years ago I remember one player getting sick in the dressing room shortly before the start of the match. To his great credit this same player won the man of the match award.

Then the time has come, all the talking has been done, the door opens, and daylight beckons. Thoughts affect feelings, affect actions and the intensity which Donegal bring to Ballybofey in 10 days’ time will be critical.

No doubt the team will be well prepared, and things will undoubtedly have moved on to a significant degree since I listened to a Donegal mentor in Croke Park (not the manager) before an All-Ireland semi-final exhort us to “kick everything that moves above the ground”. Thankfully, those days are confined to the distant past.

Even in defeat, Donegal excelled in Ladies Division 1 final
In suffering a narrow 2-8 to 1-9 defeat in last Sunday's league final to All-Ireland champions Meath, Donegal played with great heart, much courage, determination and skill and they did their manager Maxi Curran proud - even if defeat was their lot.
Curran has put his heart and soul into Ladies football in the county and he has now at his disposal a squad of much ability, who with the rub of the green will make a serious impact in the championship.