BY MATTHEW WILSON

Barry Meehan insists that his side will have to be prepared when they travel to the Burn Road to face Termon in Round Four of the Donegal Senior Championship on Saturday.

The reigning county champions got their title defence off to a disappointing start when they were defeated by 2017 champions Kilcar in O’Donnell Park however, they’ve recovered well.

Victories against Aodh Ruadh and St Naul’s in recent weeks have left them on four points out of a possible six and Meehan feels that his outfit are beginning to move up through the gears.

“We wouldn’t have been happy with the first day out but we recovered well. We got a few lads back too so we’re starting to move through the gears now and hopefully we can do the same now at the weekend.”

The Letterkenny side were without a host of players for the opening encounter against Kilcar having allocated their five county players a break following the conclusion of the intercounty season.

They’ve been boosted by the return of these individuals in recent outings with Shaun Patton, Ciaran Moore and Niall O’Donnell taking to the field for their clash with the Ballyshannon men while Shane O’Donnell and Caolan Ward made their return against St Naul’s.

The St Eunan’s boss admired the commitment of the club’s county contingent and is hopeful of seeing an improvement in performance levels beginning this weekend.

“They needed that break and we were very clear from the get-go that we were going to give them that break. They put in a massive effort for the county all year and they made massive sacrifices in their own personal lives as well”, said Meehan.

He continued, “Ciaran and Niall even made massive sacrifices to be back for the Aodh Ruadh game, they weren’t supposed to be back until Saturday night but they changed flights to make sure that they’d be back. That’s the sacrifice that those lads are willing to make which is great.”

“We got Shane back then for the St Naul’s game which is great so the lads now have two or three weeks under their belt so hopefully we’ll see a bit of an improvement in performance levels this weekend.”

Meehan and his side are now preparing for a big test this weekend when they travel to the Burn Road to face Division 1 league champions Termon in their fourth and final group game.

The two teams met earlier in the season during the league when they shared the spoils at O’Donnell Park.

Both sides will be vying for the vital two points this Saturday and the St Eunan’s manager insists that his men will have to be prepared for the challenge that lies ahead in Termon’s own backyard.

“Preparations are going well. Thankfully we have a couple of the hurlers back in as well so everything is on the up now. We have to be on it this weekend.”

“Termon came into O’Donnell Park earlier in the year and brought a massive intensity level to the game. We know what they’re going to bring this weekend, especially at the Burn Road so we have to be prepared.”

Victory this Saturday over Caolan McDaid’s outfit would leave the reigning county champions on six points and in the mix for the top four spots which would seal them qualification to the quarter-finals.

With a host of sides potentially finishing on six points, it would likely come down to scoring difference to determine the top four places.

However, Barry Meehan isn’t putting too much emphasis on it. The Letterkenny outfit came through the preliminary quarter-finals last year on their path to glory and he stated that if they have to go down that route again then they’ll make no bones about it.

“If it comes then it comes, if it doesn’t then it doesn’t, we’re not going to put too much emphasis on it. Last year we won three out of the four games and we didn’t make the quarter-finals by one-point scoring difference.”

“Considering we played the likes of Kilcar, Naomh Conaill, Gaoth Dobhair and Downings along the way, we had tough games. It’ll come down to scoring difference and it’s the look of the draw. As long as we’re in the hat for the next round no matter what it’s in we’ll be happy and we’ll try to build from there.”

“The preliminary quarter-final served us well last year so if that’s where we are again then we’ll make no bones about it, we’ll go at it as well.”