McFadden: 'It’s the most natural thing, you are going to try and stop the forwards scoring.'

John Fogarty

HE'S all but nailed on for an All Star, is second favourite behind Karl Lacey for Footballer of the Year but Colm McFadden points to Jim McGuinness as the sole reason for Donegal success this season.
Forget that the manager now lives in McFadden’s Cresslough where he has made a home with his wife (the inside forward’s sister Yvonne) and their three young children.
There are no nepotistic tendencies on the St Michael’s man’s part when he claims McGuinness always had a scheme for them in mind to fulfil their potential.
“I wouldn’t say the players drive it at all,” argues McFadden. “I always knew Jim had a plan. He had us for eight or nine months up to the Dublin game (last year’s All-Ireland semi-final), and it is a very short time to try and implement all your plans. We knew Jim had a plan and every player in and outside the panel had full faith in Jim and we knew he was going to push it on an extra level from last year to this year.”
Not that it matters a jot to them but McFadden has noticed a change in public opinion about McGuinness’ Donegal.
That’s not to say the Donegal players have forgotten how they were perceived following last year’s defeat to Dublin. The criticism nourished them over the winter.
“Rory (Gallagher) and Jim, there is a special bond between all of us. It didn’t happen overnight. He came in and had to build confidence in ourselves first and foremost and confidence in all the team-mates. I think that criticism over the winter maybe made that bond stronger and every game we’ve won this year makes it stronger and stronger. Hopefully we can seal that bond after the final.”
That he is so fancied to pick up the top individual player’s award of the year says much about his quality of football this campaign. For one, he has yet to fail to point a free.
Of the constant by defenders, he says: “I think it’s something all forwards in the modern game have to put up with and it’s been like that this last five, six, seven years.
“It’s been mass defenders. I remember Benny Coulter came out three or four years ago and said he was fed up playing because it’s too tight. (Brendan) Devenney often complained about it. When you go out and play the game you know you are not going to get freedom. It’s the most natural thing, you are going to try and stop the forwards scoring. There are going to be extra defenders there.”
McFadden looks at the likes of 19-year-old Paddy McBrearty now not with envy that they are likely to have more years of McGuinness’ tutelage ahead of them but with admiration.
He’s happy that he has this opportunity after so many seasons passed him by.
“At the start of the career, you probably thought you had a chance and as the years went on and you weren’t getting to Ulster final and All-Ireland quarter finals and we were getting knocked out in the first round of the Championship. I thought the chance was slipping away but when Jim went in he brought that belief back into the team.
He continued: “I think it’s rolled back the clock for a lot of boys last year winning the Ulster title. It’s brought an appetite to us, brought a hunger to us that we wanted more success.”

 

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/NcQq1_Q2Ta4/post.aspx

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