PETE McGRATH has laughed off suggestions Donegal’s legs have gone, but admits that modern training methods are becoming a double-edged sword for players.
Doubts over the energy in the Tír Chonaill side have reared their head during this year’s National League campaign. Donegal reached the semi-final in spite of four consecutive losses at the back end of the league and were then well beaten by Dublin in the semi-final.
McGrath is preparing his Fermanagh side to meet the 2012 All-Ireland champions in just over a week’s time and he isn’t reading too much into their opponents’ poor run of results. Asked if he could see a potential advantage for his side in terms of fitness, McGrath smiled: “That may turn out to be the case, I don’t know, but there are none of those Donegal players going to get the pension book out. They aren’t that old.
“The one thing I’m sure about is that Donegal will be well prepared. I’m sure they have a lot of work done since they finished their National League campaign and the fact that they lost x number of matches in the National League won’t bother them too much.
“They got to the semi-final and retained their status in Division One, so they’ll be happy enough. We’re preparing for a massive game. I’ll let pundits and commentators decide whether certain people are past it or not, or their better days are behind them. Sometimes players love to hear people writing them off because that gives them all the motivation they need. I certainly am not writing off any Donegal players, or saying that our legs will last longer than theirs over the 72 or 73 minutes, I don’t know what will happen.”
McGrath recently revealed his All-Ireland winning Mourne side in 1994 had been together an average of almost four times a week for over 12 months straight. But the former Down boss does feel the scientific advances within the game can only have so much of a positive effect, given the intensity and frequency of modern inter-county training.
“We all can put age tags on players now - once they reach 30, people are saying ‘his better days are behind him’ and that kind of thing," he said.
“Modern training methods and players looking after themselves can, in one sense, lengthen a player’s career, I think. On the other hand, people say the intensity of the training and the commitment is shortening players’ careers.”
Rory Gallagher has made minor tweaks to Donegal’s style of play since taking over from Jim McGuinness last season. The league campaign saw them introduce a few new faces and begin the search for a successor to Paul Durcan, who seems unlikely to play this summer.
It hasn’t affected the style of their play though and McGrath doesn’t foresee any major surprises in Mac Cumhaill Park on June 12: “Generally, teams have systems of playing and the players you have at your disposal dictate how you play," he added.
"Over a period of time, particularly the National League campaign, teams bed into certain patterns of play and doing their business. Needless to say, you look at what any opposition does and you might have to make some tweaks and subtle changes.
“Over the last number of years, Donegal have played a certain way and I don’t expect them to radically transform that when they meet us. They’re a high-energy team, they get men back and attack in numbers. We know what lies ahead.
“You look at the opposition, but ultimately you’re concerned with your own team, getting them in the right frame of mind, that you have them fit and fresh and that they know what they’re going to do and see how far down the road that gets you.”
