I’m vocal because I care - Hugh McFadden

Anyone who watches Hugh McFadden on the field for Donegal or Killybegs will need no reminding that he is a leader.

And at this week’s press day ahead of the big game at the weekend against Mayo in Ballybofey, McFadden gave an insight into how he became a leader and wanting to give something back.

“I would be vocal. I care and I know people care in different ways. I suppose for those who know my family, especially my mother’s people, they talk a lot too,” said McFadden.

The Killybegs man paid tribute to all the people who helped him become an intercounty footballer and he admitted that it was not a straight line.

“When I think back to my first day out at U-10, I had a coach, Shay Murrin.  He was probably the biggest influence I ever had in Gaelic football.

“Growing up in Killybegs we were absolutely blessed with people who loved soccer and Gaelic and gave us a love and desire and a really enjoyable experience playing sport.

“And that was probably topped off by my dad. He took me everywhere and as you grow older, the admiration grows. He was able to take me everywhere and say nothing, and that’s probably the best way to be a father. Instead of telling you what to do all the time.

“He always let the coaches coach me.  When you get a wee bit older, you recognise those people that helped you and when you go out now coaching or teaching in school, you try to pay back.”

The Donegal vice-captain, a National School teacher,  is presently doing a Masters in Sports Psychology online with Setanta College and he says it is something he has been naturally drawn too. However, he also said that there was no change on the horizon in his career any time soon.

As for Donegal's precarious position in the National League, McFadden is clear: “We have to win our last two games. We have to have something so that we go to Roscommon  with something to play for and they have something to play for, which would give us a good opportunity.

“Two points is a must this weekend and we are acutely aware of that.”

Asked about what will be needed to get the results, he is clear: “We need to play more consistently over the 75-80 minutes. I think there’s been a constant rate of improvement over the last few games.

"If we can replicate spells of the games that we’ve played, especially against Galway and Armagh, where we played well for 25-30 minutes; if we get 50-55-60 minutes, we have a better chance of coming out of these games with a positive result. That is probably the big thing that has let us down over the last few days.”

He also agrees that the return on the scoreboard has to be better. “We haven’t scored enough, especially against Galway, we left a lot of scores behind us, and probably our attacking play in the first half against Armagh wasn’t up to the standard. We have looked at that over the last two weeks and it’s something we have to improve on this weekend and next weekend and for the summer in general.”

When introduced as a substitute against Armagh, McFadden found himself on the edge of the square a number of times and there was a return when the ball was delivered to him. However, he does not see himself as a successor to Michael Murphy.

“I think it is a wee bit of a romantic opinion. It was just for the sake of two or three balls being kicked in, there is no big change,” said McFadden, who said he wouldn’t read too much into the Armagh game.

“I didn’t go on with the intention of playing too much time inside. I went on as a Middle Eight player and I just found myself on the end of a few balls.”

McFadden agreed that the ball from Dáire Ó Baoill had delivered some quality ball. “Dáire is a quality player and delivering quality ball was something that we weren’t good at over the last wee while. If we can get better at it, that can only be a positive.”

McFadden is aware of the need to fight to the bitter end against Mayo as they have deprived Donegal of a win in recent games, getting late scores to share the spoils.

“One of the outstanding characteristics of this Mayo team and over the last decade is that they’re never beaten. Their ability to fight and scrap for everything is quite admirable and unfortunately we were on the end of it,” said McFadden, referencing two recent games where Donegal should have won against them but they ended as draws.”

And he is not reading anything into reports that Mayo might bring an experimental team or that they might not want to qualify for the league final.

“I don’t think we’re reading too much into their psyche. We know that they are a very good team. They’ve used a lot of players and they seem to be developing a nice panel, which will only be beneficial with the nature of the championship this year.

“They’re going to want to win and for their own reasons. They are going to want to perform and get better but we know we have to bring our game to them and we are not worried how they are feeling or what their schedule looks like.”

The meeting on Sunday will bring Stephen Rochford back to Donegal, where he spent four years as a coach, and it is obvious that McFadden retains great respect for him.

“First of all, Stephen was a fantastic gentleman and a very motivating person. He happened to be the manager of an intercounty team before he came to us as a coach. He brought a wealth of knowledge of the game, very informed on players throughout the country.

"He was able to list out the repertoire of skills of any player we were going up against. He was a very good on-field coach and a very good person to give a perspective on a game, especially at half-time and after a game,” said McFadden, who said Rochford was completely invested with Donegal when he was here.

He also feels that the new management in Donegal has given a fresh outlook.“Probably one of the refreshing things is seeing things from a different perspective. The nature of Gaelic at times, you can get very insulated at times in how you see things. It does afford us a different opportunity to get an opinion from someone from outside; to see things through a different lens and that’s what Aidan and the two Paddys bring to us.”

The big Killybegs man says he is now free of injury and much happier in himself about training and games.

“2022 was the first time I had a serious injury and it was kinda frustrating. It has been a rocky enough road over the last six months in terms of getting back and rehabilitation, just working with physios all the time. It is nice now to be able to put back-to-back  games and training.

“When you are injured you are worried if you will be able to get through games and get through training. Being able to come here to Convoy and not be worried is exciting and refreshing. Hopefully, that continues into the future.”