Dick Clerkin says Conor McManus is the best Monaghan footballer he has played alongside.

The All Star attacker slotted seven points on Sunday as the Farney County overcame neighbours Cavan in their Ulster SFC opener at Breffni Park. Two of those scores came from play, including an audacious late strike from the right wing when the outcome of the game was hanging in the balance.

"This is when you see the difference between a good forward, a good player and a great player," Clerkin observes in The Irish Independent. "He knew he was going to be tightly marked, he knew going out it was not a day that he would be kicking seven or eight points from play but he kicked them when he needed to.

"That last point was a massive point for everyone, team-mates feed off that when you know that you have that in your armoury. In my opinion, he is probably the best Monaghan player I have played with.

"Every big team has big players, that is why they are big teams. They have men who can come in and do what is required.

"There is no point kicking points in the first few minutes, kicking points in league football. You have to be able to do it in the heat of championship when the game is in the melting pot. We have proved that we have the men that can do that."

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