Brian McEniff is hoping Donegal can take advantage of the fact that Dublin haven't had a serious test in this year's championship.

Speaking to the Irish Times ahead of Sunday's eagerly-awaited All-Ireland SFC semi-final, the former Donegal All-Ireland winning manager and county board chairman said: "Well as of yet, we haven't really hit the form that we would need to hit to beat the Dubs on Sunday. But I'd say you'll see a much fresher Donegal team on Sunday. They've put in huge preparation, were down to Johnstown House for a period last week, and the team is in very good shape.

"But without a shadow of a doubt Dublin are a formidable team, even more so than 2011. Jim Gavin has brought a new dimension to their preparation, and they have a huge pick. Let's be honest about it. There are a million and a quarter people in the city, Donegal has 150,000.

"And Dublin are the best side that's been around for a lot of years. Not only have they a lot of good footballers, playing on any given day, but their extended panel of 27, 28 players, any one of which could come off the bench and contribute. And this Dublin team has proved itself on many occasions.

"But they're coming in without having had a really competitive match. The one thing in our run-in, we've played four Ulster teams, and they're always tough. That's good preparation for us, and the fact we'd a tight game against Armagh. That's a good build-up. Dublin haven't had a test as yet."

The Bundoran hotelier has been impressed by the way Donegal have come back from a disappointing 2013 when they seemed to be suffering from a hangover from winning the previous year's All-Ireland.

"In Donegal, when you win an All-Ireland it's big stuff. So there were great celebrations, and with the way Jim (McGuiness) had worked it, in the two previous years, they were tired, and that was reflected in the way they played the Ulster final and Mayo subsequently," he continued.

"But we've bounced back this year, back up to Division One, and even though we've lost two players off the All-Ireland winning side (Mark McHugh and Ryan Bradley), Ryan McHugh is in there, making a great contribution, and Odhran MacNiallais is a great addition as well. So they've brought a freshness to the team but, by and large, we haven't really struck our real form as yet.

"Colm McFadden's form would be a worrying factor for us. And we need Michael Murphy out there in the middle of the field."

Tweet

Most Read Stories