BRENDAN Dunleavy kept his own standards high during his playing days and the Sean MacCumhaills manager wants his own players to rise to the occasion when he takes the Twin Towns side to Foxhall on Sunday.
Division 2 MacCumhaills meet Division 1 side Glenswilly, last year’s runners-up and 2013’s champions, at Pairc Naomh Columba (throw-in 6pm).
They lost to Gaoth Dobhair last weekend and drew with Malin in their first fixture in the group and Dunleavy would love for his men to give Michael Canning’s men a rattle.
“I have always said that the ability is here to have more than one player on the county team,” Dunleavy, the Donegal player of theb year in 1985, told Donegal Sport Hub.
“We have Martin O’Reilly playing with Donegal and he’s doing superb, but MacCumhaills have plenty more with that ability.
“I keep saying that about the Twin Towns, but it’s true. There are certain traditions and habits that you must overcome.
“There is a great saying, I think, we should look at and that is that you need SFA to become a good footballer: Skill, fitness and attitude. We need that.”
Benny McLaughlin is a long-term injury victim, while an injury picked up in America rules Rory Dunleavy out of contention.
While Gary Dunnion returns from suspension, Shane Duffy is out because of his red card against Gaoth Dobhair and Gerard Grindle is available. Nathan Gavigan has been missing of late, owing to a back proble, but the Donegal minor player could return in Glenswilly.
Dunleavy said: “It would be a huge boost if we had Nathan. He is a super fellow. He’s an important player for us. Gaelic football is tailor made for big men and he’s one of our bigger men.”
MacCumhaills came back with a late revival against Gaoth Dobhair, but couldn’t find enough spark to rattle the men from the west.
Ahead of a clash with another of Donegal’s heavyweight contenders, Dunleavy said: “There wasn’t all that much in it against Gaoth Dobhair at the end up. We didn’t believe in ourselves early enough and we let them get too far ahead.
“It’s a tough ask in Glenswilly and we’re under no illusions. This is what we need to do to challenge ourselves. We need a performance and if we can get that I don’t think we’ll be too far away.
“We’d hope that we can carry the way we finished last week into the Glenswilly game.”
With a place in the quarter-finals already secured, Glenswilly’s intensity at training stepped up this week.
Wins over Gaoth Dobhair and Malin have put the Glen men into the last eight.
“We had a big step up in intensity this week,” Canning said.
“It hasn’t been our usual run-in to a Championship game since we’re looking further ahead.
“We’re in the quarter-finals now so our training is based on that.
“We’re not taking the feet off the gas and I think this is the first time that we’ve ever gone into a Championship match with no pressure.
“Maybe we can use that to our advantage and take more chances going forward. We’ll tweak the gameplan a little.”
Glenswilly will welcome Ciaran Bonner back into contention while Leon Kelly – who has been hampered by hamstring trouble – is again ready to challenge for a spot in the first XV.
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