BY RYAN FERRY
FORMER Donegal star Brendan Devenney has been enthused with how the county have began the 2026 season and feels team manager Jim McGuinness has shown signs that he will adapt to help his team progress further.
Donegal had a super 2025 campaign, and went all the way to the All-Ireland Final.
However, defeat to Kerry last July did leave a sting and the zonal approach employed was heavily criticised.
There have been signs that Donegal will press out more this year and could be prepared to defend one-on-one when required, while it has also been noticeable that he’s looking to add size and presence to the middle of the field.
“It’s been a brilliant start so far,” said Devenney.
“They’ve obviously trialled a few players in the McKenna Cup and the league, and every one of the lads that came in really looked like they have a lot of ability.
“In the last two games, they have very much gone back to a more experienced team.
“It looks like they are going for the tag defending. We did fall into a zonal against Dublin but I do wonder did that happen organically because of the breeze and the fact that we had a bit of a lead or was it something that was talked about.
“Dublin and Kerry were probably both let into it a bit because at times it looked like both teams could have been destroyed.
“Dublin are a work-in-progress and Kerry were missing a lot of men and they both hung in the game.
“But if you go back and look at the All-Ireland Final, our defensive shape is definitely different now and we’re pushing out.
“They also clearly want big men across the middle. We lost out on midfield that day particularly in the first half.
“Hughie (McFadden) and Jason (McGee) didn’t start that day but they are playing a lot now with (Michael) Langan and Caolan McGonagle out at times, and big Kieran (Gallagher) has dropped out as well.
“At different stages you could have five big men contesting the kick-out which is massive and it will take a good team to win ball against those lads.
“So I think Jim has been working in the background at fixing the areas that didn’t work against Kerry.”
Another aspect of Donegal’s play that has pleased supporters has been their ability to kick two-pointers with Gavin Mulreany, Daire Ó Baoill, Langan, and McFadden all firing over from beyond the arc in the league so far.
Ciaran Thompson did kick vital two-pointers in the Ulster Final and the quarter-final with Monaghan but it wasn’t a huge factor in the All-Ireland semi-final or final.
Indeed they were outscored 5-0 on two-pointers by Kerry. It looks like teams will place more of a priority on their long-range shooting this year and that could suit Donegal.
Devenney said: “I think what was happening with that was because we were running the ball all the time, we were able to get through that initial press.
“Some teams were sitting in some sort of a zonal defence, and Donegal were so good at working opportunities, that they were able to get inside the arc with no real problems, and that left them kicking a lot of one-pointers.
“That worked well up until a certain stage. We won an Ulster title and got to an All-Ireland Final and there was nobody screaming that we need to go for two-pointers.
“It wasn’t until Kerry exposed a few things in the final, and look I was talking about this with someone the other day, Kerry hadn’t played that way in any other of their games.
“Meath had beaten them and Cork had rattled them so it was a day when everything went for Kerry and they got in front early.
“I think Donegal have two-point threats and you can see it is going to be very important.
“I think you’d want to be getting at least two but probably four in a match, and as we saw the last day with Sean O’Shea, if you can score two-pointers into the breeze, it can make sure a team doesn’t pull away from you.”
Patrick McBrearty has retired and Niall O’Donnell has stepped away from the panel but scoring has not been a problem so far for Donegal even though Michael Murphy and Oisin Gallen have both only one cameo to their names while Jamie Brennan hasn’t featured yet.
Shea Malone has caught the eye but while he has been wearing the number 15 jersey, it’s a very different role to which Devenney enjoyed during his days as a corner-forward.
Malone is often seen running in the angle of a semi-circle away from goal and that helps to leave space for others. The Naomh Conaill man has shown he knows how to score goals but he isn’t seeing a huge amount of possession.
“I do think it is something that we need to work on,” said Devenney who is a respected analyst.
“I’ve watched Shea doing that and it’s not easy because everything is to the advantage of the guy coming from deep and you wonder how does he get in the position then.
“I think out of our first seven points against Kerry, six of them were from defenders on the loop – Ciaran Moore, Finnbarr Roarty and (Peadar) Mogan.
“It’s nearly a disadvantage to be an inside man now. They don’t want to clog up the space and quite often if they do get it, their momentum is taking them away from goal.
“When Murphy came on, you could see his enthusiasm which was brilliant. He was being marked by Jason Foley and I saw him make three good runs and he didn’t get the ball. There was one of those times when he was wide open and the pass still didn’t come.
“Eventually he drifted out and went on a good run with an amazing bit of speed and created a channel for himself.
“But for me, I don’t think it needs to be the line break at all times and there are passes on inside which would add more variety and just provide more of a threat. Look, we’re not going to see the ball lumped in but I think there are clever wee passes that could go.
“Look, don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great start.
“Maybe the confidence took a bit of a hit after the All-Ireland Final but the team have put in some super performances and have shown they can beat anyone over the last two years.
“Donegal are brilliant at what they do but I think there’s probably a little more in them and I hope we can see it.”
