Jim McGuinness has hit back at suggestions that Donegal took the field against Tyrone without the intention of winning, insisting that his side’s focus remains on building for the Championship in three weeks’ time.
Donegal, already assured of their Division 1 status, fell to a 0-25 to 0-19 defeat in Letterkenny on Sunday after making 11 changes to the team that had beaten Derry a fortnight ago.
With Tyrone battling for survival, the visitors had the greater urgency, but McGuinness dismissed any notion that his side treated the game lightly.
“I never want to be in a spot where I’m standing on the sideline in my own county with the mind of not trying to win a game,” he said. “I never want to be in that spot.”
Mark Bradley attenpts to lead the Tyrone charge
The Donegal manager, in his second season back in charge, was adamant that every game serves a purpose as they look ahead to the Championship.
“Our objective is trying to get as many people as possible to the level before the Derry game, so I thought we produced a lot of big performances,” he said.
“We’re happy with our performance considering we had a lot of changes. There are fellas around the camp trying to put their hand up and get an opportunity, so I suppose the games up to this point gave us the opportunity to do that.”
Donegal remained competitive for long spells, with Michael Murphy and Jamie Brennan to the fore, but Tyrone’s superior sharpness proved decisive. Darren McCurry’s late point steadied any nerves for the Red Hands, who now face Dublin next weekend in a must-win clash to avoid relegation.
McGuinness acknowledged that Donegal struggled in key areas, particularly with their kickouts in the first-half, but saw improvements as the game progressed.
Donegal’s Michael Murphy and Peter Teague of Tyrone
“We struggled to get our kickouts away in the first-half, that improved in the second-half when we pushed up and that allowed us to ask more questions of Tyrone,” he said.
“Physically, it was a big ask of our boys, but on the football side we did really well.”
Odhran McFadden-Ferry, Hugh McFadden, and Brennan all impressed, while Eoin McHugh and Ciaran Moore made an impact off the bench.
McGuinness was keen to highlight the individual positives amid the defeat.
“We competed really well in the air, but overall there were a lot of fellas there today who will get a lot out of that game and that’s what we want,” he said. “We want to get as many fellas as possible into the picture.”
With another game to come before the Championship campaign begins, McGuinness stressed that his focus remains on squad development rather than outside noise.
“I don’t tend to get involved in that stuff anymore, but I did see a few comments that we were going out there trying not to win,” he said. “I don’t know how someone can put pen to paper and write that. They must know my thoughts if they can write that, but I never thought that.”
Donegal face another opportunity to fine-tune their squad next weekend away to Mayo but for McGuinness, the message is clear.
“We’re not trying to lose games,” he said. “We went out today to win that match and we’ll be doing the same next week.”
Scorers – Donegal: M Murphy 0-4 (1f), J Brennan 0-4, C McColgan and O Doherty 0-2 (2p), C Moore 0-2, H McFadden, K McGettigan, F Roarty, M Curran, E McHugh 0-1 each. Tyrone: N Morgan 0-5 (2x2p frees), D Canavan and M Bradley 0-4 (2f), M Donnelly 0-3, C Daly 0-2, P Teague, K McGeary, P Harte, M McKernan, B Kennedy, S O’Donnell, D McCurry 0-1 each.
Donegal: G Mulreany; M Curran, K McGettigan, P Mogan; O McFadden Ferry, F Roarty, C McColgan; H McFadden, D Mac Giolla Bhríde; J Brennan, J Mac Ceallabhuí, O Doherty; C McGuinness, M Murphy, N O’Donnell. Subs: E McHugh for Mac Ceallabhui (HT), C Moore for McColgan (48), K McGroddy for McGuinness (48), L McGlynn for Doherty (54), J Carlin for Murphy (63).
Tyrone: N Morgan; A Clarke, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan, R Brennan, J Oguz; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; M Donnelly, K McGeary, C Daly; P Harte, M Bradley, D Canavan. Subs: S O’Donnell for Oguz (48), C Quinn for McGeary (51), R Canavan for Harte (51), D McCurry for Bradley (57), S O’Hare for McKernan (67).
Referee: Paul Faloon (Down)