DONEGAL may have shipped two defeats in the Dr McKenna Cup, but that does not perturb defender Brendan McCole in the slightest.
McCole, who lined out in the somewhat unfamiliar centre-back role as Donegal lost narrowly to a more experienced Monaghan side on Wednesday night, says the competition has produced some exciting new talent.
The St Naul’s man added that “we would be happy with the way we played”.
“Conditions were pretty tough, but you expect that in January, but it was another good run out for us,” he said.
“There is a lot to work on, but a lot of these young lads put their hand up and that is what it is all about.
“We had a narrow defeat to Monaghan, but we will just have to take it on the chin and move on.”
McCole said the display against the Farney county was a big improvement on their first outing against Down in Newry.
“We fought really hard and battled out there and that is something we felt that we did not do in Newry, and I felt we did a lot better this time,” he said.
But the fact Monaghan had 0-8 from frees was a matter of concern for McCole.
“Yes, that is something we need to look at as you never go out and set out to give away as many fouls as you can,” he said.
“There is no excuse for giving away so many scoreable frees.”
New Donegal manager Paddy Carr has given out nine debuts over the two games, something McCole lauds as encouraging for the future under new management.
“Everyone playing out there deserves their spot and everyone out there put up their hand for a starting slot.
“It takes a while for that (a new management team) to settle in and while there has been changes, we are all big boys now at this stage and have been around for a while.
“But this is the time of the year to give the young lads their chance and they are certainly battling hard.”
These are changing times for Donegal as two of their greatest leaders stepped away within weeks of each other.
Neil McGee and Michael Murphy are huge losses and leave deep voids, but McCole says that “times move on”.
“Any dressing room is not the same when you lose players, and those two soldiers are two of the best ever,” he said.
“We still have a lot of experience in Hugh McFadden, Paddy McBrearty and Ryan McHugh and they are great leaders and speakers so we would be comfortable with that in the dressing room.”
Donegal’s next date is a much tougher one, as it will be a home tie with reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry on the last Sunday in January.
And, while much depends on what selection Kerry put out, McCole accepts that it will be a most serious challenge.
“Division One is going to very tough and Kerry are on the table, but we are going to go out and get as good a start as possible,” he said.
“You want to play at the top table. We will just have to work hard over the next few weeks and hope to get a good result against Kerry.”
