CAVAN boss Mattie McGleenan says he is aiming to build an adaptable squad as Breffni eyes look towards the National League opener with Dublin.
The most notable early-season experimentation has been the positioning of Martin Reilly. Noted as a playmaking half-forward, he was designated to pick up Peter Harte in last weekend’s win over Tyrone before lining out at centre-back against Donegal on Sunday.
He pulled the strings in the first half but as Donegal retreated deeper, McGleenan decided to push him into the half-forward line again after the break.
The former Tyrone player also released Killian Clarke from the clutches of the full-back line, as Terry Hyland had done late last season.
Cavan also brought Padraig Faulkner from full-back to midfield against Declan Bonner’s young side, from where he scored three points from play in a fine second half display.
Asked if Reilly at number six would potentially be a long-term venture, McGleenan replied: “I don’t know. I’d have a great belief that I want players to be comfortable on the ball.
“The days of saying somebody’s a centre-half back and somebody’s a full-back is over. You need to be comfortable on the ball and be fit to move around positions.
“That’s what we’re trying to do and we’re still learning. We have a lot to do going by that first half today, in terms of our movement and where our best balance of our team is.
“But listen, that’s what this McKenna Cup’s for; to find out the guys, who fits best in which position.”
Cavan began on Sunday with just four of their starting fifteen from last summer’s draw with Tyrone, and offered chances to players like debutant Niall McKiernan, whose physicality at full-forward was useful.
“I thought Niall McKiernan had a good game. Turloc Mooney had a great game, we took him off in the last ten because he’s coming back from an injury last year. I was delighted with how he performed there.
“I thought Gunner [Killian] Brady had a great game, Padraig Faulkner was excellent, and age-old Seanie Johnston had a super game and kicked some good points for us.”
Meanwhile, Donegal boss Declan Bonner hopes to have something closer to a full deck to choose from for an admittedly daunting trip to Omagh tomorrow night.
He was minus nine players because of a combination of university commitments and injury.
Jamie Brennan, Eoghan Gallagher, Lorcan Connor, Caolan McGonigle, Cian Mulligan, Christian Bonner and Colm Kelly, and injured pair Stephen McBrearty and Niall Friel, all missed out on the defeat by Cavan.
The young Tír Chonaill squad has been a good account of itself but faces their first trip out of Ballybofey and in to face a Tyrone side that is unlikely to contain too many of their own under-21s.
With Mickey Harte fielding a more experienced team throughout the McKenna Cup as Tyrone aim for a sixth straight success in the competition, Bonner concedes it has the potential to be a chastening experience.
“It is, there’s no doubt about it, but we just have to get ourselves ready for it and try to get a performance. It’s a great learning curve for these lads to get this exposure in the McKenna Cup.
“We spoke about it before we started, the results were never going to be a factor. It was just about seeing how these lads would cope against real quality opposition. The quality and intensity Cavan brought was fairly good.
“We had lads making mistakes and they’ll learn from that. That’s what we’re looking for. We’re just hoping to be a better side come the end of January, and I think we will be.”
