Donegal interim manager Aidan O’Rourke says there is no team in the Ulster Championship that spooks his team as they go to Newry next Sunday.
O’Rourke was thrust into the role last month having stepped up from the position of coach after Paddy Carr resigned with the team on the brink of relegation from Division One, which was subsequently confirmed by a defeat to Roscommon in their last League outing.
They open their Ulster Championship campaign with a tricky quarter-final away to Down this weekend though the former Armagh defender has at least had the opportunity to get his teeth into the role somewhat following the League.
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“There’s a lot of really experienced footballers in the group,” he said. “A lot of quality and the next month is the Ulster Championship. That is the total focus and there isn’t a team in the Ulster Championship that we would be afraid of.”
He added: “I think there is huge potential in the group. Yes, they have taken a bit of an emotional battering but they have the potential to really push on.”
There has been any amount of negative publicity around Donegal GAA of late, not just with Carr’s departure and the senior team’s relegation, but the collapse of the underage academy with Karl Lacey resigning as its head and O’Rourke admitted that it has affected some players.
“To be honest, I don’t hear a lot of that noise,” he explained. “I’m not on social media, I’m not in Donegal every day of the week. In some ways I’m insulated from all of that. My focus has been quite easy to maintain. There have been times when it might have distracted others.
“Anything that affects the squad, affects performance and how they train, you can’t be stupid and ignore that. That would be stupid. There have been times some players have said they have been affected.
“I’ve never seen a county like Donegal in terms of the media interest. There are papers, websites, podcasts and that’s great. But there is a downside to that too when things aren’t perfect. But I’d like to think there is a steel there now.”
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