Summer holds plenty promise for Lacey

AS he drives to work from Donegal town to Letterkenny every morning Karl Lacey’s journey is intersected by the bridge that twins the towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar.

Craning his neck briefly to look into the adjacent MacCumhaill Park, thoughts of the championship wander through his mind. After the sharpest of winters, summer is rolling in fast.

The various opening provincial fixtures are sprinkled around the calendar and when the championship ball is first thrown into the air, that split second is the one time all year when all teams are equal.

“With the weather being good and me passing by MacCumhaill Park every day I do take a look in and think about the Antrim game and the championship,” admits Lacey, an Ulster Bank customer service official.

“I look in and wonder when they will be cutting the grass for the game and lining the pitch or whatever. From the first evening you go training in January the focus is on the championship. You are always thinking about it.”

Ballybofey will be ready for Antrim and the Ulster championship preliminary round in just over three weeks’ time, while Sunday’s NFL Division Two final is another step on the ladder in terms of Donegal’s preparations.

Playing Laois at Croke Park will be an indicator of just how where Donegal stand. Results have been positive this season but the Ulster men’s season under Jim McGuinness is only wriggling into shape.

With Lacey’s father Joe a native of Luggacurren, a village some eight miles south-east of Stradbally, 26-year-old Lacey has frequently travelled to Laois. A calf strain, though, forced him to miss Donegal’s 1-15 to 1-11 loss in Portlaoise two weeks ago.

It was McGuinness’s first blot of the copybook. With his bloodlines from Laois, Lacey’s phonelines can tell him of the capabilities Donegal face on Sunday when there is silverware for the winner at the base of the Hogan Stand.

“Laois really are going well and I couldn’t believe the size of them the last day,” Lacey adds. “I was surprised as they weren’t always like that but you can see they play more an Armagh type of game since Justin McNulty came in. Down the years they’ve been inconsistent just like we have and Justin is trying to change their tactics and their thinking.”

Donegal’s way of thinking is also changing. There is an understandable trepidation considering John Joe Doherty’s side were the first evicted from the championship last summer. Back then, Donegal’s self-esteem was in intensive care. In what seemed like a parallel and opposite universe, McGuinness’s success in taking the U21s to the All-Ireland final made him the logical choice of successor. Since taking over, the positioning of Lacey, a two-time All Star corner-back but one of the most fluent footballers on the panel, remains one of the new manager’s experimentations.

“I really enjoy playing in the half-back line and it’s something I have done before with both my club and at college (at Sligo Institute of Technology or University of Ulster Jordanstown), as well as occasionally for the county.

“At the same time, if I’m put in the corner and asked to play a man-marking role then that’s fine with me.”

McGuinness is merging his two prime facets — the study of sports science and the experiences of inter-county football — to form an exciting concoction. Belief is also a keyword.

“Jim brought in new ideas and a different way of thinking,” Lacey continues. “He’s a motivator and when you look at him giving 100% it makes you want to do the same. For me, it’s about trust. There’s a spring in our step and with the championship coming up there is no better way to prepare than getting a tough game at Croke Park.”

There were lots of times in the past when Donegal thought they were ready. A good showing at Croke Park on Sunday will show the current variety aren’t far off.