Former Donegal star John Haran believes Armagh is the worst possible draw the county could have got in round two of the the All-Ireland SFC, with the Letterkenny man admitting that he would have preferred them to have been paired with Mayo.
Declan Bonner's men prepare to meet a rejuvenated Armagh side who are keen to banish the Ballybofey blues of a couple of months ago.
Armagh have just dumped out reigning All-Ireland champions Tyrone while Donegal will be hoping to regain their mojo according to Haran, but the St Eunan’s clubman would have preferred Mayo as opponents.
“It would have been better if we had got Mayo as there would be a better chance of playing open football, but Armagh is a real tough one as they are riding high and keen to beat Donegal on this occasion.
“And I don’t think Donegal wanted Armagh and sadly Donegal’s record after getting beaten in Ulster finals is very poor. Donegal are on the back foot and a game against Mayo might have got them a bit more motivated.
“But I would be a bit pessimistic about our chances, if we had won the Ulster final and got to the All-Ireland semi-finals we would be playing the Connacht champions as Kerry and Dublin could meet in the other semi-final.
“But that is not the case now."
Donegal got a lot of criticism after the Derry defeat and Haran believes that this might spur them.
“Any team that got as much criticism as Donegal you would think there would be a kick back in them to show your true worth," he added.
“It’s the style of football Donegal are playing that is annoying people. We are not direct enough and it is very hard to watch.
“Donegal has to salvage something out of the season and when you get to an Ulster final, you need to win it and we didn’t do that.
“If Donegal get over Armagh they will have earned it and it would be a big boost.
“But Armagh are playing much better and this will be a real tough Ulster Championship type test.
“This Donegal team is vastly experienced with them being in 10 of the last 12 Ulster finals, not even the great 1992 team had that level of experience.
“We can’t say we are a work in progress any more.
“Armagh had a big crowd, and they will have another big crowd when they meet us."
So how can Donegal beat Armagh?
"We need to get more physical, up the ante and play at a much faster pace.
“Maybe Armagh will not be as well tuned as Derry, but Donegal are paying too much respect to the opposition and don’t have enough confidence in themselves to play more attractive football.
“They are afraid of getting beaten when they should be concentrating on how to win the game.
“How are we going to get Jamie Brennan and Paddy McBrearty on the ball quicker.
“That involves a change in tactics and Donegal must be more direct and not 15 men across the 45, over and back and trying to pick a wee hole here and there or maybe draw a free and score.
“It does not suit our players who have natural attacking flair and they should be attacking."
