THERE’S a slight manic edge to proceedings as counties continue to get to grips with Gaelic football’s new rules – but Jim McGuinness believes teams will start to perfect their plan by the end of the National League.
Scorelines have soared in the opening few weeks of action, with All-Ireland champions Armagh’s Saturday night defeat of neighbours Tyrone - followed by Kerry’s stunning 5-15 to 1-24 win over Derry - the headline acts.
It wasn’t just as dramatic in Ballybofey where Donegal got their Division One campaign up and running with a comparatively stingy 0-20 to 0-16 victory over Dublin, with their rescheduled trip to the Kingdom next up on Saturday afternoon.
McGuinness outlined the impact on “certain metrics” amid an ongoing adaptation process, but the Tir Chonaill boss expects counties to be confident in how best to make the rules work for them by the time Championship rolls around.
“I think you’ll see, over the next couple of months, teams getting good at what’s being asked of them, if that makes sense,” he said.
“From our point of view, it’s the first night out so the kicking wasn’t good, the touch wasn’t good, but over the course of seven games the actual product will get a lot better.
“What we know is it is more intensive, it is more transitional, so when teams get better in transition, better at finishing off moves, you’ll get closer to that model - and that’s always the case at this time of year anyway.
“I would say you’re talking the last round or two of the League, start of the Championship, before you actually see the product that it’s going to be, which is going to be very fast-paced, very dynamic, very transitional.
“There’s going to be a massive adjustment here, in terms of what works and what doesn’t work tactically.”
At what stage Donegal’s plans actively involve Michael Murphy remains to be seen.
The absence of the Glenswilly colossus from the matchday panel to face Dublin removed some of the theatre from Saturday’s delayed League opener at Pairc MacCumhaill, with many hoping to witness the 35-year-old’s return to county colours.
McGuinness admitted that, had this season been played with the old rules, Murphy could well have featured against the Dubs – but, under the new normal, there is a greater need to tread carefully at this stage.
“Michael’s great; Michael’s in good shape, he’s enjoying it.
“He’s strong and he’s fit, we just want to be careful with him, careful with Eoghan McGettigan as well, careful with Odhran McFadden-Ferry, Eoin McHugh came on and replaced his cousin [Ryan McHugh] tonight for a wee period…
“We’re going to have to manage our squad, training, load, we’re going to play and recover – I’d imagine that’s going to be a big part of it over the next five weeks.
“We’re delighted to have two points on the board, we have five games now, let’s see what we can accumulate. There’s so many factors at play at the minute; if we had lost tonight it wasn’t the end of the world, you’re trying to prepare as best you can for the Championship and understand the rules to a higher level come the end of the League.
“That’s the objective for the League.”
The man who led Donegal to the 2012 All-Ireland title was frustrated by the nine wides his men kicked in the first half.
However, the calm and the character they displayed during his first year back at the helm was evident again as the Tir Chonaill weathered an early second half storm before seeing out the job.
“There was a point in it with seven or eight minutes gone in the second half – you’re looking at the scoreboard, looking at the wind, looking at the confidence of the Dublin players thinking this could be a long second half if they tag on a couple of scores.
“So from that point they managed to get vital turnovers, interceptions, then showed very good composure at the other end. Oisin [Gallen] stepped up, kicked some big scores into the wind, so that would be the most pleasing point.
“To be fair to the boys, that was a big part of it for us last year. I remember up there against Armagh last year, then in the Ulster final, we were four points down twice… the only game that didn’t happen last year was the semi-final.
“Whenever we do get into a jam, they normally do try to hold the head and work their way through it.”
