Rory Gallagher is prepared for the long haul as he tries to shape Donegal’s future.
A spate of retirements and withdrawals has left Gallagher without NINE of the 2016 squad and down the considerable experience of the likes of Eamon McGee, Colm McFadden, Christy Toye, Rory Kavanagh and, now, Neil Gallagher.
They were all centurions, playing 773 games between them for Donegal.
With Anthony Thompson, Leo McLoone and Odhrán Mac Niallais, three who would have been in or very close to the starting XV, pulling out of the squad and David Walsh also retiring, it left Gallagher in a pickle.
His task was always looking challenging as he headed into 2017 without some of Donegal greatest ever players, but it was perhaps one of the reasons that he fought for a new four-year deal as manager in September.
Donegal take on Dublin, who are on a 31-game unbeaten run in the League and Championship, at Ballybofey on Sunday, but Gallagher is relishing the prospect.
“The pressure comes from within,” Gallagher said.
“We want to deliver and test ourselves against the best teams in the country.
“And this week we’re playing without a shadow of doubt the best team in the country.
“To the outside world, people think you have nothing to lose playing Dublin, and that’s the way it is for most teams.
“There’s a lot that we admire about Dublin and the chance to test ourselves against them, and for our boys to put on a Donegal jersey against the All-Ireland champions is really exciting.”
Gallagher drafted 11 new players into his panel, most of them still under-21s, and didn’t enter his senior squad in the Dr McKenna Cup.
The Donegal boss, who was number 2 to Jim McGuinness from 2011-2013, is hopeful that a new batch of stars will emerge from the shadows.
He said: “We’re working with a large panel, and as was agreed with the County Board a long time ago, we’re investing in them.
“We feel that Ciaran Thompson, Michael Carroll, and Eoghan ‘Ban’ (Gallagher) are showing the benefits of being in since the summer of 2015.
“You’ve got to keep the lads training at this level. We have Enda McCormick in, Christy McLaughlin, Mark Coyle are in.
“They are players that people might not know or know an awful lot about, but we want to invest in them over a period of time.
“This time next year there will be a couple of more departures – that’s the reality of it – and we want to have the players ready to be at the level.
“There will be some day when Michael Murphy and Neil McGee won’t be in the dressing room, and people don’t want to contemplate that, but there will always be a Donegal team.
“At the minute, we’re focussing on developing a better team from our group.
“Team spirit and honesty within a group, and the will to win being sewn together is priceless. That’s what Dublin have. It’s not just tactics.”
Donegal are without Patrick McBrearty for this weekend’s game and Karl Lacey is some weeks off a return. With Frank McGlynn and Martin McElhinney doubtful, Donegal may only be able to call on two players from their 2012 All-Ireland winning team – Paddy McGrath and Neil McGee – from the start.
McElhinney is a player Gallagher has earmarked to take on the baton from the departed warriors.
He said: “He’s a big player for us and he has played mainly a mixture of midfield and centre half-forward over the last number of years.
“He’s definitely a player that we feel will give us huge options in the middle of the park and that will be crucial.”
Another player who could start against the Dubs is Darach O’Connor, who hasn’t started a game for Donegal since the 2014 All-Ireland final.
Gallagher said: “He missed two years of full training, but has worked exceptionally hard to get himself physically fit to play at this level again.”
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