INSPIRATIONAL DONEGAL CAPTAIN Michael Murphy accepts that his side have improving to do before meeting Mayo on Saturday (throw-in 18.00), but says the north-westerners have the hunger needed to succeed.
Murphy scored three points in the 3-12 to 0-11 win over Galway at Croke Park. And, echoing the sentiment of his manager Rory Gallagher, knows they’ll have to step up at least another level to take on the Connacht champions.
“They pose threats all over the pitch. They’ve got class forwards all over the place. They’ve got runners coming from their defence, they’ve got runners coming from their midfield,” Murphy said on Saturday.
“We know their threat having played them over the last number of years. In 2013 they gave us a lesson in how to play football, and it’s something that we still have to take on the chin.It’s something we have to keep moving on from.
“It’s up to us as a group to focus on that now and produce a performance in the All-Ireland quarter-final.”
If supporters have forgotten the 4-17 to 1-10 drubbing in the 2013 quarter-final, Murphy served up the painful memory as the kind of motivation he and his team-mates will be using this week.
“We’re just feeling hungry. Hungry to get right out there playing again. Mayo is going to be a massive challenge,” said the Glenswilly man keeping cards close to his chest.
“It’s going to be a huge game for us. And there are a huge amount of levels that we’re going to have to move up to in order to compete with them next weekend.”
“We’re a group of footballers who are always hungry for success. It doesn’t always go our way, but that’s life. You’re going to get the knocks as well as the successes in life.
“We’ve got a number of brilliant lads and we’re very, very friendly as a group of players and we want to do our best for ourselves and do our best, more importantly, for Donegal.
“You saw a big crowd travelling down there [Saturday]. I know it wasn’t a packed house, but to see a Donegal crowd travelling down there today to support the show would give any person with a Donegal jersey on their back a bit of pride.
“You want to get out there and do your best for them.”
