BY RYAN FERRY

GARY McDaid believes Donegal will require ‘a miracle’ to top Group 1 on Sunday week.

The quartet is finely balanced heading into the last fixtures where Donegal take on Mayo and Tyrone square off with Cavan.

At the present moment in time, Donegal could finish in any one of the four positions.

It would be seen as a disaster for Donegal to finish fourth and be eliminated but that will be the case if they lose to Mayo and Cavan beat Tyrone due to the application of the head-to-head rule.

If the Red Hands win their game and Donegal are beaten, then Jim McGuinness’s men will come third and will be away in the Preliminary Quarter-Finals.

A home match at the last 12 stage would arise if Donegal and Tyrone both win their respective matches.

And hopes of topping the group and going straight through to the quarter-finals will require a Donegal victory over Mayo and a Cavan triumph against Tyrone.

The possibility of draws in either match adds another layer of intrigue and score difference could then come into play to decide the final standings.

Donegal would dearly love to top the group and have two weeks to get ready for their last eight meeting.

Counties that come through the Preliminary quarter-finals would only have one week to prepare so it is undoubtedly an advantage to top the group.

However, McDaid feels that defeat to Tyrone in Round 1 will ultimately scupper Donegal’s hopes.

“I think realistically it will take a miracle for Donegal to top the group now.

“We’re relying on Cavan to get a draw or a win against Tyrone and I just can’t see it happening.

“Donegal can’t be worrying about that now. They will just have to go out and try and win their own match.

“It’s important that if we’re in the Preliminary quarter-finals, that we have a home match at least.

“It could still be tricky. You could end up with Galway or Dublin.

“But I think home advantage is worth a few points to Donegal.

“We rarely lose there and I can’t see us losing twice in Ballybofey in the space of a few weeks.

“I’m sure the Donegal players are disappointed they lose to Tyrone of all teams.

“But the loss might not be a bad think as it could give a kick up the back side.

“Sometimes you get a false sense of security when you’re winning all the time.

“And Donegal have a wild long championship season. If they had gone from the Ulster Preliminary Round to the All-Ireland Final without losing, it would have been a phenomenal achievement.

“It’s very hard to be cooking every day. Sometimes you don’t quite reach boiling point.

“You don’t want to lose to anyone but you do have time to look at why it happened and correct things.”

Mayo had a great win over Tyrone in Omagh but it was always going to come down to the Donegal game for them after they lost their opener.

Mayo boss Kevin McStay has had to step away due to a medical episode, and his team have been under huge scrutiny all year.

Stephen Rochford, who coached Donegal during Declan Bonner’s reign, is the stand-in boss for Mayo which adds a nice sub-plot.

McDaid said: “Tyrone was a big game for Mayo after losing to Cavan.

“And with the McStay news, you were wondering would they get a bounce and they did.

“Mayo have been playing a very structured style of play all year but they threw the shackles off last week and it worked for them. They played with expression.

“The other interesting thing is that Stephen Rochford is now managing Mayo and he knows the Donegal players inside, out.

“It’s a couple of years since he has been coaching Donegal but apart from Finnbarr Roarty, Ciaran Moore and a few of the younger players, he knows everyone else and will know their strengths and weaknesses.

“It will be interesting to see what he comes up with.

“Donegal went and got Rochford because of the football he played with Corofin, with the high-pressing and free-scoring.

“People will say he was too curtailed in Donegal but Mayo have been trying to play like Donegal in the last couple of years and it hasn’t suited them.”

As Glenswilly manager, McDaid saw Michael Murphy up close at club training last year and he’s not surprised that he has made such an impression since his return to intercounty football.

The 35-year-old often finds himself getting special attention but McDaid says his clubmate knows how to handle that.

“When you get something in Michael’s head, you won’t get it changed.

“He has unbelievable determination and when he went back, he was always going to give it 100%.

“Physically he’s in as good of a shape as he’s ever been in. He’s lean and strong and is sharp on the pitch.

“The big thing about Michael is the opposition get so worked up about him. He becomes a big distraction for players and managers and supporters.

“And I think that favours the other forwards like Oisin Gallen, Paddy McBrearty and Shane O’Donnell.

“Michael is mature and smart enough to see if team have a plan for him or are doubling-up, and he will take himself out of the way to create space for others.

“And for those other boys, they know Michael will always get the best marker, so it could be the second-best or third-best coming their way and they will see that as a serious opportunity for them.

“Those boys will take advantage as well. Oisin and Shane got three each last week, and Conor O’Donnell scored 1-5.”