Mulgrew not privy to Donegal insider info

FERMANAGH manager Charlie Mulgrew doesn’t believe drawing his native Donegal in the qualifiers gives his team any advantage heading into Saturday’s game in Clones.

Mulgrew was a servant in the Donegal half-forward line for over a decade and was part of the All-Ireland winning panel.

He also worked as a selector during Declan Bonner’s reign as Donegal manager, and worked with many of Brian McEniff’s current side.

That won’t matter come Saturday, according to Mulgrew.

“I don’t think that is going to make much of a difference,” the Fermanagh manager said yesterday.

“New players have come to the fore in both Donegal and Fermanagh this year, and players who starred one year, don’t necessarily star the following year.”

That is certainly true of Mulgrew’s Fermanagh team. While there is much recent history, not all of it pretty, between these bordering counties, most of Mulgrew’s young side have never met Donegal in the championship.

“The recent history won’t bother them. The Cork game is done and dusted, we have just to look forward to the Donegal game and prepare for it as best we can.

“As we have seen in the last few years, there is very little between these teams and we just have to get things right so that if the game is in the boiling pot with 15 minutes to go, we can go for the win.

“What happened on Saturday was great for the players, great for Fermanagh, but that is over now. This is another challenge, each game is another step up for these players and we have to spend this week preparing to take that step.”

And while it might feel strange to be facing his native county, Mulgrew says there is little he can do about it.

“You just have to accept it. Irrespective of who we were playing, it was always going to be a tough game. Every side left is sort of equal standing, so we knew we were going into a difficult game anyway.”

Damien Diver is a major doubt for Donegal ahead of that match. Diver picked up a hamstring injury in a club game on Saturday last and looks set to miss the crucial clash with the Ernesiders, which is due to take place this Saturday.

Christy Toye is another injury concern for manager Brian McEniff, but the absence of Eamonn McGee and Brian McLaughlin has also served to weaken the squad.

The two were dropped from the squad earlier this week for disciplinary reasons, and with McGee out of the team, McEniff may now have to make two changes to the Tír Chonaill’s defence.

Kevin Cassidy has recovered from a knee injury and may be recalled to the starting line-up, while other defensive options are Karl Lacey, Barry Dunnion and Eamonn Reddin.