The “irreplaceable” Michael Murphy is not going anywhere yet, says Paul Durcan, but Donegal need to lighten the load on him all the same.
After starring in their League opener against Mayo, Murphy hobbled out of the victory over Kildare last Sunday week with an unconfirmed injury which surely makes him doubtful for Sunday’s trip to face Kerry in Killarney along with Jason McGee, who also failed to see out the Kildare game.
The captain also missed much of last year’s League with a hamstring injury, which disrupted his Championship campaign too.
Michael Langan, an All Star nominee last year, continued his fine form against both Mayo and Kildare, suggesting that he might be one to share the leadership mantle with Murphy.
Durcan, Donegal’s All-Ireland winning goalkeeper in 2012, said: “In fairness, Langan has taken the bull by the horn in a lot of games and is a scoring threat too.
“I still think Michael is an exceptional player and I don’t think anyone in that dressing room will be trying to replace him.
“Getting Jason McGee back is a massive thing at midfield and if Jason gets up and running with the potential he has he will be a massive advantage to them as he is strong around the middle.
“Listen, Michael Murphy is irreplaceable in fairness to him. He is still an exceptional player, but I think boys need to take responsibility around him and I think they will do that.”
When asked if he feared for Donegal when 32-year-old Murphy eventually steps aside, Durcan replied: “Losing a player of that calibre and leadership is not going to be easy but I think the guys that are there now have been with him for five or six years, they should know exactly what it takes, day to day, living your life.
“The one thing about Michael is that he leads by example and it is very easy to see that when you are training with him.
“Guys know the legacy he will leave behind, they will know what has to be done but I have no doubt that Michael Murphy will be there for another few years.
“He is not gone by any means and he will always be prominent in Donegal football.”
Although Donegal have won Ulster titles under current boss Declan Bonner in 2018 and ‘19, they have not progressed beyond the last eight of the Championship since Durcan, now the Sligo goalkeeping coach, was in his pomp back in 2014.
He continued: “I suppose getting the Ulsters under their belts in those couple of years was a big thing. Listen, it is disappointing that they have not pushed on from there and not gone through to the semi-finals.
“The talent is there, there are a lot of young guys pushing through. There has been a big turnover in players over the last few years so I think once they crack getting into it they will be there constantly because they have the quality.”
When asked what has been lacking he recent years, he replied: “It is probably putting teams under when they are ahead is something that has not been there fully.
“Last year, they competed well with Tyrone but unfortunately Tyrone pushed on in that final quarter.
“The Mayo game in the League this year, they were winning and they will be disappointed that they didn’t push through and get the victory but at the same time Mayo came back strong and Rob Hennelly had an exceptional kick as well to draw it in the end.
“But it is something that does not come naturally and it is a hard thing to get into teams.”
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