BY DÁIRE BONNAR
DONEGAL legend John Gildea believes the Donegal fans have become accustomed to winning and the current team are a victim of the success of previous county teams.
Last weekend, Donegal lost in the first round of the championship for the first time since 2010. They had been in 10 of the last 12 Ulster finals since.
Former midfielder Gildea believes that has made some people in the county a bit spoilt due to the great success in those years. He believes we may see the team struggle due to the loss of so many team leaders.
“It’s a stark and harsh reality for people to take in,” he said.
“I spoke to a lady during the week telling me that her son is 15 and never remembers Donegal not being in Ulster finals or in Croke Park. We’ve come through an era where we have been spoilt.
“You’re a victim sometimes of your own success and the last 15 years have been incredibly successful from a Donegal perspective. It’s the most successful era ever in Donegal football and you become accustomed to that. There’s the anticipation that that’s always going to happen.
“But if you look at the personnel changed over the county in the last five or six years, Karl Lacey, Frank McGlynn, Anthony Thompson, the McGee’s, Murphy etc. – if you take that quality out of any side in the county it’s going to leave a huge gap. It’ll take time for players to find their feet and step up to the mark.
“The fact those players were around for a long time hid over the cracks. They’re all gone within a couple of years. It has left a vacuum of leaders and as a result you struggle and that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
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