No one took any satisfaction from Carr departure - O Baoill

Daire O Baoill readily admits that the days leading up to and after Paddy Carr’s shock departure as Donegal boss were the most difficult he’s ever experienced as a senior county footballer. 

An embarrassing 11-point home defeat to Mayo as good as sealed Donegal’s relegation from Division 1 and that prompted three senior players, Patrick McBrearty, Hugh McFadden and Eoghan Ban Gallagher to request a meeting with their manager. 

And whatever reservations or concerns that players’ representation expressed about the direction Donegal were veering in, Carr took that conversation as his cue to step aside.  

“The three lads knew they had the backing of the squad,” said O Baoill. "It was a decision we had to make and in terms of what happens outside of that, we knew the minute it was going to be released there was going to be a backlash. 

“People were not going to be happy, people were going to be happy. At the end of the day, it’s a lot of noise outside of it. We have plenty of experience in the team. Those older boys who have been around a long time know it is not the end of the world. 

“It never is until championship comes around. But we have full belief in Aidan and Paddy and the work that has been done the last few weeks”.

He added: Paddy Carr, the way he spoke you just knew the love he had for Donegal. He understood towards the end, for the benefit of the team and to go in the right direction, tough decisions had to be made. 

“But we’ve pushed on now and that door is closed. When it happened, we knew we had to push on pretty quickly. We simply couldn’t afford to let things linger”.

Aidan O’Rourke, speaking prior to the Gaoth Dobhair man, said that from this point on now, “performances were the group’s responsibility”. Perhaps the initial upheaval following Carr’s departure lent itself to what was a poor, poor response in the side’s last NFL outing away to Roscommon. 

Donegal will ultimately now be judged on what they produce on Sunday in Newry. O’Rourke has had five weeks to mould Donegal and O Baoill says victory at Pairc Esler has the potential to rerail the side’s entire season. 

“I have been relegated before,” O Baoill explained. “I was relegated in my first year with Delcan Bonner. At the time it felt like the end of the world. Then, a week or two later, you realise the league, at the end of the day, is only the league. 

“Yeah, at the time it’s disappointing. There were a few results where we were more disappointed with ourselves in terms of a few of the games we didn’t get over the line in. We felt like we could have done a lot better in the final stages of some games. 

“But we knew coming to the end of the league that it was something we could work on, push on and in that block we have done the work on that. And hopefully you will see that now come Sunday”.

Because of the disastrous chain of events, both on and off the field, that have got Donegal to this point, morale and indeed expectations amongst supporters remains low. But O Baoill insists that an Ulster championship win in Newry can respark belief. 

“As a player, you are within the group the whole time and probably not seeing or hearing any of that. We don’t see it the same as the people outside of the group. As a group, I’m always thinking we will get the best out of each other in terms of training. 

“Outside of Convoy, we are still in touch. We are still within our bubble and I think it is really important to realise that there are people out there who are still behind us 100 percent, and always will be. And we are really looking forward to getting all those green and gold supporters to Newry on Sunday.

“Most of that other stuff, it’s a lot of background noises that’s going on. It is out of our control. Everyone has an opinion and you do hear a few things. But there is nothing we can do about that. 

“Like, the building could be burning behind you at training but your focus would remain firmly on the pitch. Our group, 35 players and backroom team; there would be none of that negativity involved within the group. 

“If anything it gives us a bit more bite. What we have gone through, other teams might not have had it so hard in terms of what has going on”.