THE Donegal senior team might not have pointed their bus towards Enniskillen on Sunday but Caolan Ward believes they are heading in the right direction as the group turn their attention towards the National Football League.

Donegal qualified for the semi-finals of the McKenna Cup on Wednesday night when they saw off Derry.

However, with Sigerson Cup commitments, they then decided that they would not have enough players to fulfil Sunday’s semi with Monaghan and pulled out of the competition.

It wasn’t something that was discussed with the players, and Ward was happy for the management team to take control of the situation.

The end result was that they didn’t have another competitive game, but the St Eunan’s defender was pleased with how the McKenna Cup campaign played out as they recorded wins over Monaghan and the Oak Leaf county.

“We’re heading in the right direction that’s for sure. We’re playing well and every fella that is getting a chance is stepping up and I suppose that is all that the management team are looking for at this time of the year.

“They have players that want to be there and want to put their best foot forward for Donegal, and that is what is happening at the minute which is quite pleasing.

“The team we have at the minute is quite young but I suppose a lot of fellas are getting experience of intercounty football and they are acquitting themselves very, very well.

“Games, performances, and wins are only going to help that.”

Wednesday night’s game with Derry was far from a classic. Rory Gallagher set his new team up very defensively, and Donegal – who were short a host of inside forwards – mirrored that approach for most of the match.

However, they eventually managed to find gaps and openings, and didn’t hesitate in taking them.

“They more or less set up with their whole team behind the ball so we had plenty of possession but it was how we used that possession, and we had to be that bit patient on it and wait for the openings and keep creating angles.

“It probably wasn’t pretty to watch in terms of the excitement of the game but we just had a game plan that we stuck by and that saw us over the line.”

While the match might not last long in the memory of spectators, it is one that Ward will remember fondly as he scored his first ever goal for the county and deservedly picked up the man-of-the-match prize after the outing.

“It’s nice to get up the field now and again and to be on the end of chances.

“It probably went back to the Monaghan game last Sunday when I played a bit within myself and that was Declan’s message to just go and back myself and get on the ball and want to attack every chance you get.

“That was in my head from the meeting we had and thankfully I brought it through to the game and it worked out alright.”

Donegal based their decision to pull out of the McKenna Cup on player welfare, and there has been a heavy workload for the college players like Michael Langan and Peadar Mogan.

Ward played Sigerson Cup with Carlow IT when he was trying to break through into the Donegal panel so he knows how testing it can be.

“The time I played Sigerson they were midweek games and if I remember back to the last time I was in college, we played a league game (with Donegal) on a Sunday and Sigerson on Wednesday, a league game the following Sunday, and then another Sigerson game on the Tuesday or Wednesday.

“It’s a balancing act and you could be travelling the length of Ireland to play your match, so it was just a matter of trying to get yourself recovered in between games and hopefully avoid injuries.”

Declan Bonner has suggested moving the Sigerson back to before Christmas, while others have questioned the importance of the third-level competition.

However, Ward is a big fan of it and he believes there should be time in the GAA calendar for it.

“I definitely see the benefit of Sigerson and I really enjoyed my time down in Carlow.

“It’s just a good competition and you were playing against top, top players, and you get the chance to play with fellas that you are in class with and living with.

“There’s a good bond about the Sigerson and in Carlow we definitely had that within our group.

“There’s definitely a benefit in playing the competition, it is just a matter of when do you play it.”

We may only be in the second week of January but the GAA schedule is already looking hectic, and it won’t be long before the National League kicks in, and that is an intense period.

There won’t be much downtime during the spring, but Ward feels refreshed after enjoying his break in the off season.

“We did get a good break, Declan and the boys were very fair to us.

“They gave us the time off to enjoy ourselves and then when we came back, we were ready to go again.

“At this level, you’re always looking after yourself, and you’re in the gym anyway, so you may as well just keep yourself in good condition for when you are back on the pitch.”

There is now a big St Eunan’s contingent in the Donegal panel with eight players currently included.

Ward, Eamonn Doherty, Shaun Patton and Niall O’Donnell were all part of the squad at the end of last year, while Conor Morrison has now rejoined the panel.

Conor O’Donnell has come in and impressed, while Conor Parke and Aaron Deeney are also involved, and that augers well for the O’Donnell Park club.

“We have a good crew in there at the moment.

“It’s good for the club and it’s good that there are players that played well in the club championship this season and they got recognised.

“It’s definitely good for the club and it will help us when we go back in later in the year to have eight fellas training at that level.”

St Eunan’s are likely to put in a big push for the Dr Maguire in 2020, but for the moment, it’s county football where the focus is for Ward.

His aim is to earn a starting spot for the first league match with Mayo in two weeks and hold onto it.

“Yeah for me it’s all about working hard in training and trying to nail down a starting spot.

“The Mayo game is number one on the list in two weeks’ time so it’s just a matter of performing in training and if I get a chance to play, hopefully I can go out and do well.”