STAYING healthy is the chief aim for Hugh McFadden this January.
It’s a busy month with the McKenna Cup in full swing, while Donegal are due to take on Dublin in their NFL opener in Croke Park on Saturday week.
McFadden looks lean and fit and was excellent against Antrim last Sunday, while he made a good impact when introduced against Derry on Wednesday night.
With Kieran Gallagher joining the panel, and Michael Langan, Jason McGee, and Caolan McGonagle all in their peak years, competition for midfield places will be intense this year.
However, the Killybegs man, who turns 32 in ten days’ time, is about long enough to know there’s no point in getting too fixated with what happens early in the season.
The campaign moves quickly with games coming thick and fast.
And the most important thing for McFadden, who struggled with sciatica in 2024, is staying fit and being available for training and matches.
“It’s different for everybody depending on your background and where you are coming from.
“Some are trying to get over a few bumps and bruises, (for others) it might be the first time coming in, (then you have) what kind of form you had in the club championship and building on that.
“For me, it’s just about trying to be healthy and put minutes back-to-back as much as I can and staying on the training field.
“When you do that it gives you the best chance to put your best foot forward.”
McFadden registered a goal in the Ulster Final last year but wasn’t a regular scorer throughout the campaign.
He kicked two super points against Antrim, and one against Derry, and his form with the Fishermen on the club scene would indicate that he could and should be scoring more with the county.
“We won’t get too carried away!
“We will see. Some days the opportunities come for you.
“It’s probably something I haven’t been doing too often too recently.
“If I can get my name on the scoreboard all and well but as long as we are creating scores and the team are putting big scores on the board that’s the most important thing.”
There was no McKenna Cup in place last year but it has made a return for 2026.
It hasn’t been straight-forward as Donegal’s opener with Derry had to be called off due to the weather, while Fermanagh, Cavan, and Antrim were all pulled up for playing ineligible players who were involved in third-level competitions.
It’s likely that the future of the McKenna Cup will be a talking point again before the 2027 campaign but McFadden feels it has worked well and didn’t eat into the festive schedule.
“I think when it doesn’t start directly at the end of December, it’s better because it gives you that wee bit of breathing space to get over Christmas.
“It is an opportunity for players to play for their county without maybe the biggest pressure of National League football.
“If it’s done in a structured well-planned manner and it’s worked along with managers and other fixtures, it allows people an opportunity to get ready without starting too early.
“Playing competitive fixtures in December is not something that I think is fair for people who are trying to put other things in their life and organise other parts of their life outside of football.
“I’m glad to see the McKenna Cup back this year and it’s important for our supporters and gaels throughout the country to get out and watch their county.”
