McGuinness to ask Council for leniency over injury-hit squad

DONEGAL manager Jim McGuinness has warned he may be unable to field a team against Fermanagh in the Dr McKenna Cup on Saturday night.

Ulster Council regulations state that each county must work off a 26-man panel for the duration of the competition and although an injury-ravaged Donegal were defeated by Tyrone in Edendork on Sunday, their qualification still rests in their own hands. On Sunday, for the second week in succession, after an opening round win over University of Ulster Jordanstown, McGuinness was forced to work off a depleted panel of two goalkeepers and 16 outfield players.

“I find it very frustrating when I see James Horan in Mayo using 15 different players for his three games in the FBD League and Seamus McEnaney able to use 20 different players for Meath’s three games in the O’Byrne Cup,” McGuinness said. “With Rory (Kavanagh) picking up a knock it has got to the stage where we may not have a team for the Fermanagh game. We are going to have to go back to the Ulster Council and see if they can tweak the rules a little. If they don’t we are going to be in bother because any of the lads that are out injured are two to three weeks off being fit again. I’m a new manager, and I have all those players outside who I have never worked with.

“The National Football League is two weeks away and the McKenna Cup has been of no benefit to Donegal whatsoever. We had too many players out injured. We were forced to put in a squad made up of five U21 players, three or four of which had never played senior football before. We also have nine away with the colleges.”

Due to a number of players going down with the ‘flu and other injuries, Donegal were allowed to forward a revised list of 26 players to the Ulster Council before the competition two weeks ago. However, McGuinness’s dilemma is complicated as a number of the initial panel are now fit again but were not named on the revised panel and are now not allowed play.

Donegal officials are also planning to appeal the straight red card dished out by Cavan official Joe McQuillan to Neil McGee on Sunday. The full-back caught Tyrone’ Brian McGuigan with what appeared to be a late shoulder and his four-week ban, if the appeal proves unsuccessful, would see McGee miss the opening two rounds of the National League.