Patrick McBrearty sat down with the new Donegal manager, Declan Bonner, following his appointment and liked what he heard.
Kilcar man McBrearty was a shining light in an otherwise dark campaign for Donegal.
Although Donegal fell to a crushing qualifier defeat to Galway, having earlier exited Tyrone thanks to a heavy loss in a semi-final, McBrearty has been nominated for a GAA All-Star for his efforts.
“As a unit, we’d be disappointed,” says McBrearty.
“I was happy enough myself.
“I put in a big pre-season, but I tore my groin against Roscommon and was out for ten weeks. I couldn’t train on it, with the type of injury that it was, so I recharged the batteries a wee bit at that time.
“We got two trimmings at the end of the day, so it’s not a great record.”
McBrearty knew Rory Gallagher well, both from his work with Donegal and Kilcar.
Gallagher stepped down following the Galway loss and has recently been replaced by Declan Bonner.
“I was talking to Declan and I like his ambition,” McBrearty says of the new boss.
“I sat down with him and I like the way he’s talking. He’s not talking two or three years down the line. He’s talking about this year. I like the tone.
“The gap between ourselves and Tyrone at the final whistle this year wasn’t a reflection on the two teams.
“Tyrone might be a wee bit ahead of us, but if we got another hour at them it might be a different story.”
It has been a big year for the 24-year-old, who captains his club, Kilcar, into Sunday’s Donegal SFC final against Naomh Conaill.
Kilcar – beaten finalists last year – are in search of a first Dr Maguire since 1993.
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