ON A WEEK DONEGAL face into the unenviable task of taking on the highest scoring team in the country, Jim McGuinness isn’t about to start picking holes in Dublin’s defence.
Ahead of the counties’ meeting in the All-Ireland semi-final meeting on Sunday, McGuinness says “it’s a bit of an illusion” that Dublin are suspect at the back.
“The stats don’t back that up. People say ‘Dublin go one on one’ or ‘they leave space at the back’ but when was the last time a forward line absolutely destroyed them?” he said.
“Space is one thing but they have top backs with pace and power, they’re holding their own with everyone.
“There is space there but penetrating that space, taking their backs on and getting the better of them is easier said than done. There is this perception that Dublin are this swashbuckling attacking animal but they are excellent defensively.”
Despite the gushing praise, the Donegal boss was keen to point out that he feels his players are ready for what Dublin will throw at them.
“They’re is no doubt about their athleticism but we’re comfortable with that. We’re happy with where we’re at. It doesn’t keep us up at night.
“We’ve a lot of work done. It’s when you have four, five and six players coming and supporting at the same pace, that’s when it’s difficult to hold them. That’s the challenge in front of us.”
Colm McFadden has come under some criticism this year for failing to hit the highs he has achieved over the last couple of years. He has looked like nowhere near the player who came so close to winning Footballer of the Year in 2012, but is McGuinness worried about his lack of form?
“No. Absolutely not. We’ve a very clear vision in our minds how we approach football. We’re in the middle of that now.
“It’s about being as thorough as possible and getting everything right our end before we go out and try to execute that. We can’t control what’s going on in Dublin. We need to look at ourselves.
“Every single player in the side is crucial. If Paddy McGrath doesn’t do his job the corner forward on the opposition’s team will do the damage.
“Is Paddy therefore less valuable than Colm (McFadden)? I think not. It’s the same for the goalkeeper, full forward and so on. Everyone is crucial.”
“All our forwards have come up against tight defences. There is this perception that if you take Colm McFadden and Michael Murphy out of the game then Donegal won’t win. That proved to be incorrect this year as we got our scores from other places.
“If you have three men marking an inside forward then that means there is space somewhere else and someone is obviously free. We try to push those players into areas that make them dangerous.”
Donegal spent five days last week training at Johnstown House in Enfield fine tuning their plans for Sunday’s game and preparation is something McGuinness prides himself on.
“We’ve been working since the start of the year on developing systems and develop things that hopefully make us a better and more efficient side. We can’t disregard that now just because it’s Dublin. That wouldn’t work. Psychologically, it would throw the players.
“It’s 100 percent about the players, what they do and how they interpret things. We pass information on that we think is relevant to the game. It is then up to them to make that information work.
“But they’ve been absolutely fantastic. You give them information and they try to deliver it to the best of their ability.
“That point we scored the last day (winner against Armagh), there was no coaching involved there. That’s decision making.
“You have to give players that flexibility. We’re very fortunate to have the group of players we have, how talented they are and how committed they are.
“For me, it’s been an unbelievable experience working with them.”
