FORMER Mayo boss James Horan believes that Donegal have the materials to win another All-Ireland title, but admits that the age profile of the Tír Chonaill squad could scupper their ambitions.
Horan was in the opposite dugout to Jim McGuinness when Donegal claimed their second ever Sam Maguire Cup success in 2012.
That was year two of four for Donegal under McGuinness, during which time he remained steadfastly consistent in his team selections.
Rory Gallagher thus inherited a hugely experienced team. Of the side which began the Ulster final defeat by Monaghan, five were 30 or above – Paul Durcan, Eamon McGee, Colm McFadden (all 30), Neil Gallagher and Christy Toye (both 31).
Frank McGlynn and Neil McGee are 28, with the McHugh brothers and Odhran Mac Niallais the only under-25s on their starting line-up.
Despite an off-day in the Ulster decider with Monaghan, Horan has been impressed by the Donegal attack up to this point and feels that the raw materials for another challenge are in place.
“I saw a lot of them in the league. They were beaten up in Croker against Dublin but I thought they were good.
“Then in the first [Championship] game against Tyrone, they started very, very well, playing at a very high level. They’ve nearly sort of been on the way down since then.
“But they have too many good players not to be knocking around at the end of the season. If you go through their team, defensively they’re dogs. In the middle the field, Gallagher is holding them together, but up front it’s the mixture they have.
“The two McHughs can go buzzing around, Murphy, Mac Niallais and McBrearty, who’s a man possessed this year.
“That’s the nucleus of an All-Ireland winning team. It’s just if it’s in the legs. They need to peak three more times but because of their age profile, you wonder can they do that?”
As the race for the All-Ireland hots up, the presence of Fermanagh in the last eight and both Sligo and Kildare in the final round of qualifiers are the only real surprises.
Cork were the first of the fancied sides to fall but them aside, the rest of the big guns remain in the hunt.
Horan’s former charges blitzed their way through Connacht, destroying Sligo by a record margin of 26 points in the provincial final.
The key tactical change that new managers Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly have made is moving Aidan O’Shea to full-forward. He hit 3-4 in a man-of-the-match display against Sligo, as well as tormenting the Galway defence in their semi-final win over the Tribe.
While admitting that O’Shea will never be afforded the same space again that Sligo gave him, Horan believes that the big Breaffy man will pose problems for Donegal, who are set to meet Mayo in the quarter-final if they overcome Galway tomorrow.
“He’s in McGee territory if he’s playing in there. You’ll have one jumping behind him, one in front and probably Paddy McGrath or someone sweeping.
“The thing about Aidan O’Shea, he’s a big man, he’s physical, but he’s unique in that he has an unbelievable skill set for a big man. He knows the game inside out, he studies it a lot.
“He’ll be plotting and planning how to maximise what he gets out of games. After a couple of minutes the last day, you could see Andy Moran and Cillian O’Connor basically getting the hell out of there, they left O’Shea in. They pulled out and Sligo just went with them, which was crazy. You’ll never see that again.”
Dublin head into a quarter-final with Fermanagh on Sunday as 1/200 favourites, and Jim Gavin’s side remain hot favourites to win what would be a third All-Ireland crown in five years.
Stopping Diarmuid Connolly from running the game is the key to beating the Dubs, according to Horan.
“If you let them free-flow, they’re awesome. Connolly in full flight is brilliant to watch, there’s no two ways about it.
“But put a good man-marker on him, try and block up all the runners and reduce the amount of goal chances they create, you never know. They’re not the world-beaters they’re made out to be. No team ever is.”
