DONEGAL UNDER-21 manager Declan Bonner says that the Dr McKenna Cup was a ‘huge learning experience’ for his squad.
But having showed up well against UUJ and Cavan, Bonner – who had to field last night without several of his own key players – insists the venture of playing his young guns will reap some rewards.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” he told Donegal Sport Hub.
“We knew that from the draw was made. It is a huge learning curve, but that’s what we wanted out of it. Tyrone are one of the top three teams in the country and we know how serious they take the McKenna Cup.
“It was all about the experience and learning from that. It was never about winning. We were just never going to compete physically, but I can’t fault their commitment. January was always going to be bout learning – and it was a huge learning experience.
“We had to try and stay as competitive as we could. The pace, power and physique of those lads made that very difficult. It will take a couple of years for our guys to get to that next level.”
[adrotate group=”46″]Donegal still have remaining games in the North-West Under-21 Cup to play as their preparations continue for the Ulster Under-21 opener against Tyrone in March.
Bonner said: “We will take a lot away from January. We tried out 25 players and it has given us a good indication of where they are.
“We will be going into February in a much better position than we did 12 months ago.
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/declan-bonner-after-donegal-lose-to-tyrone
