Monaghan's McArdle praises Donegal

Monaghan vice-captain Dermot McArdle rates Donegal are one of the top three teams in the country and believes that a very tough task faces his side on Saturday as they resume the quest for Sam Maguire via the All-Ireland qualifier route.

Following their Ulster final defeat to Tyrone, Monaghan take on Donegal in Omagh this weekend in the third round of the qualifiers, knowing they are just 70 minutes away from a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

"We were very disappointed after the Ulster final. It was a match which I suppose we could have won if we hadn't of given Tyrone two big leads in either half," said corner back McArdle.

"You never know until the next match and we are going into this match against Donegal, another Ulster team, and we are under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task. They are probably the most consistent team in the country.

"If you add up the matches that they have played this year - they have won a National League and played four championship matches and won three of them."

Hard facts will tell you that they are in the top two or three teams in the country at the minute."

The defender has been closely examining the cohesiveness of the Donegal attack.

"I have looked at them over the last few days to see what sort of team they have been playing and they have been changing it around a little bit," he said.

"Just looking at their forwards they have about nine who would make any county team in the country. Most counties have five or six good forwards but they have nine."

McArdle also believes that Brian McIver's side have strength in depth throughout the field.

"Donegal have a very solid back-line and a very strong midfield, they have Kevin Cassidy there who is a former All-Star," he admitted.

"As I've said, they are probably in the top three teams in the country so we are really going to be up against it on Saturday evening.

"If we were playing Donegal and they were after losing to Tyrone and we were after losing against Tyrone, it would be a level playing field.

"But they have had their two qualifier matches to get themselves back on track which is a huge advantage to them and they have recaptured their form and that win against Westmeath has emphasised that.

"The ball is in their count and they have to go into this match as favourites."

McArdle was on hand today in central Dublin where Halifax, in association with the Gaelic Players Association, announced a seven-figure sum sponsorship over the next five years for the Castleblayney player's Gaelicperformance Gaelic football camps and the launch of new computer software for GAA coaches.

The 30-year-old McArdle has a Masters in computing from UUJ and felt that there was a great need for software in this area to move away from the traditional coaching methods.

"The idea for the software came from a few different angles," he said. "The first one was that I felt that there was a huge desire for knowledge among coaches.

"The second angle was that managers have been using markers and blackboards and whiteboards and magnetic pegs and things like that for the last few years.

"I felt that some other sports were using this type of technology and there was no reason why the GAA shouldn't use it as well."

The software is being used by the Monaghan and Louth senior football squads at present and both teams have been reasonably successful this season, however McArdle is modest in this regard.

"I think it's like anything - managers are looking for the extra edge and any little thing that they can get they will pick up on it and try and use it," he said. "I wouldn't say that there is a direct correlation between the two but maybe there is, I don't know."