BEING pipped at the post in a chess match with Derry was one thing, but after a 10-point hiding from a team they’d beaten by seven a few weeks previously, the question now is: Where do Donegal go from here?
The Tir Chonaill bus pulled out of Clones yesterday and there would have been a lot of soul-searching on board among management and players. There are calls for change at the top but former Donegal corner-back Eamonn McGee says Declan Bonner should be afforded the time to make his own mind up about his future.
And the 2012 All-Ireland winner says there is no obvious replacement should Bonner decide that he wants to walk away.
“Declan has another year on his contract and people are talking about a change of management but inter-county management is a different ball game altogether in terms of commitment,” said McGee.
“You have to be careful about who you’re going to bring in. People talk about change, change, change, but who is there to take over? In the case of Tyrone, they had Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan ready to step in and they were prime candidates but I don’t see who Donegal have to bring in.
“People talk about Rory Kavanagh and Karl Lacey but I think they have another few years to do before they step into it and that’s it unless we go external.
“So I would be saying: ‘Give Declan the respect he deserves and let him decide himself’. If he decides to walk away then we’ll have to have a good conversation about who we’re going to bring in.”
Donegal were rocked by Rory Grugan’s goal after nine seconds but responded very well and there were echoes of their last two Championship wins against Armagh in the way they dominated midfield and stroked over six points in-a-row.
But they were unable to sustain that form and, just as Derry had done in the Ulster final, Armagh rallied and fought their way back into the game by piling pressure on Shaun Patton’s kick-outs.
Once again, Donegal weren’t able to find the higher gear they needed to kick on again and by half-time they were under severe pressure.
“There was a period when we responded so well to the Rory Grugan goal and we looked very good,” said McGee.
“But we needed to get a second response and it just wasn’t there and it was a tough day for Donegal.”
After 10 Ulster final appearances and five titles since 2011, Donegal still have a squad packed with athletic footballers and McGee doesn’t think we’ve seen the last of veterans like Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty and Ryan McHugh.
“I don’t think from a players’ perspective that there’ll be any changes,” he said.
But in the last two games his county has looked stale and tired and short on scoring options and their hopes continue to rely heavily on the form of Murphy.
“It was a disappointing day and I had a lot more of those days than I had of the good days,” said McGee.
“Days like today make the good days all the sweeter so you’ve got to keep the faith but it’s hard coming away from a day like that and there will be difficult conversations to be hard in the next few weeks for the players and the management.”
