 Good to see you, good to speak to you again as we talk all things Gaelic games. Welcome along to Highland Radio. Cheers, Ashene, how's the form? The form's not too bad. We're looking forward to what will be another busy weekend and looking forward to hopefully what will be a Donegal victory. Eamon, how big is this game for Paddy Carran, the players against Galway in Sunday? This is a massive game and I think everybody knows the importance of Division 1 and for me, the way Division 1 is shaping up, I think ultimately this game will tell, will ultimately decide whether Donegal will stay up or not. Looking at the other fixtures and the future fixtures, Donegal probably need to be taking the points here, unfortunately etc. Or maybe not, the duck has been broken now with the result against our man last year, so hopefully that's the start of a new era in O'Donnell Park, but based on our previous record, it's not a great one to have. Yeah, well what about their performances going into this game, there's a lot to work on, is there such a very short period of time for them to get right? And I don't think anything, you're not going to change dramatically during that week from last week, weekend against the Monaghan game, there's a lot to work on. It's just the mentality and getting the head right and you know there can't be any petty or any poor me during this week, it's just got them older lads have got to get everybody behind the wheel and just driving awards, getting that two points because we'd watch them I love their character in the carry game, when they could have folded, carry were starting to get away from them and they just kept at it and kept at it and that's what really impressed me. They played some good football, yes, but it was the manner and what they reacted to carry getting the top and they kept going. And we just hadn't, we haven't seen that then and the following two games, we went 11-9 up at one stage against Monaghan and really should have pushed on but Monaghan had a weak fight back and we did that reaction that was there in the carry game. So it's none of us, it's not there, like they're getting in good positions, just the reaction wasn't there and they're going to be under the course here on Sunday so we have to see the right mentality. Was it a case that maybe Monaghan had a stronger bench and players coming off the bench that was a bigger factor in that game last week? I think you can make that argument, you know, Conor McManus had an impact and they studied the ship and he got a few marks there and he can make that argument but we were still in a position, you know, we were still on top and we really, really should have went for it and when we were there at that 11-9 point. You can talk about benches, we still have quality there and you know, there's a game in Langen now, there's a game in Omban and you know, that'll take them up Oshengelns and another man and you know, probably if Jamie Brennan's goal chance goes in, they're in a lot healthier spot in that league so There's still positives there, I know it's all doom and gloom and there's still plenty of positives and plenty of good quality in that Donny Gall team to pull it off on Sunday. You were involved in obviously setups at stages in the league, struggled, what's a lake in the dressing room when you're going under such a game? A game which is a bigger magnitude now than it did maybe two weeks previous where you thought you might have had four points from six but now you're sitting bottom with two, have conceded the most and you can enter a game where you need to win. What's it like in a dressing room environment there to try and bounce back? The important is everybody's just got to stay positive while acknowledging the false third of doing there, there's no point staying blindly positive. But if you get into danger as you can get into that kind of the poor me mode and things are going bad and the important thing is just to stay positive, keep the shoulder of the wheel, try and learn from what happened in the previous two games and just kind of look the bounce back. But it's how the lads interact each other and how management interact and if they're constantly given out and there's a bitching creeping in and all that, that's not the way to go. You'd hope the boys have been about long enough to recognise that. How big a plus is it from Donny Gall point of view that they're not going to have Damian Cormor and Shane Walsh this weekend? Massive, massive. That's a big, big plus for us when we're looking to put one over on them because Shane Walsh is just playing, you know, that this is the prime of his career and he's one of the best players in the J at the minute and Cormor on his day. He'd be a handful for any fullback in the country, so to have them not in the equation, it's a big one and, you know, although it has been done, there's no point saying otherwise out and about the Donny Gall public and amongst the supporters after the last two results. You look at that Galway team and you look at the Donny Gall team and it's realistic to be going in here and expecting two points. It's not beyond the realms of, you know, you see a one for Donny Gall and that's very much achievable. I 100% see a one, you know, I think, you know, we haven't fallen that far away in the space. We've lost Murphy, but we haven't fallen that far away and we just have to get the head right and get a setup that suits us better, maybe. Yeah, I definitely see a one. I think we can get one. Galway haven't moved that far ahead of us, you know, in the space of that time. If you had asked me last year, did I ask any people, GA folk that have been about a few games and watched both teams, there wouldn't have been that far ahead and they haven't dramatically got a few leaps and bounds. They're missing Shane Walsh and Cormor, so it's definitely realistic to get the two points. I suppose it's basic enough. We need to score more and concede less, don't we Emma? That's a simple thing. I think if any manager or coach can solve that, get the magic formula for that, we'd all be assorted. But it sounds simple, but once you're in amongst it, it's a lot harder to implement. Listen, let's look at the other games. How surprised are you by Ross Common as they're going into their match with Monahan this weekend? Three ones from three top of the table, because this is the team that was being tipped to be fighting at the bottom, but don't you all come there into the campaign? Yeah, yeah, listen, there's no point saying otherwise. I wouldn't have said it to Mark himself, but I had definitely tipped them for it to go down. I didn't see, but there's quality there, and I think if you talk to people on the ground, Ross Common, that they believe they have as much quality as someone like Donegal or Tyrone or that there. It was just about getting that belief. Just on the back room team probably, David Burke is highly, highly rated amongst managers and coaches, and Mark who's just gone to the coaching scene is, you know, there's a lot of good word in him now. So they've obviously given that wee injection of, you know, tactical know-how, the wee injection energy and Ross Common are paying dividends. Now, the question is, will they continue that into the championship or are they going all out to stay up? But the way the whole season's structured, you know, you can nearly base whether years before, because of that condensed season, you can nearly base a lot of how you're going to do in the championship on the league now. So teams will have a good idea where they're at, come the end of the league, and it's shaping up well for Ross Common. In relation to Kerry, this is a big game, obviously, Donegal against Galway. How big a game is it for Kerry against Armagh on Sunday? Because they're one of those four teams sitting at the bottom of the table on two points, Emma? It's a big game. I think Kerry have, you know, when we think back down through the years, Kerry have sometimes struggled but always managed to stay in and around division one. And I don't think they'll be panicking now. I had to laugh. I was chatting a boy during the week and he says, Jack O'Connor will be under pressure. I was kind of just nodding my head at him as if to say, Genie Mack, that's a, yeah, people are very, very fickle now, but they know the crack. They've been about long enough, Jack's been about, and there's been a few lads that have won an All-Ireland previous, so they know it's going to be a slow, they'll have enjoyed the one turn and enjoyed everything that goes, won an All-Ireland, but they'll move up through the gears nicely and Cliffords will be back. They'll have another week under the belt in that whole Inter-County scene. They've been playing junior football and it takes a while then to adjust to that Inter-County game. So they'll have another week, Sean O'Shea is back and I think Kerry will be, Kerry will be grand. They come for the division one status anyway. How grand will Mayo be? Because they had that big one, of course, against Kerry last week. They're going well under the new regime and the new management, but Tintaron, who are at the other half of the table, can they put it up to Mayo and Casablanca Saturday? It's funny too, when I talk about the fickleness, Mayo are going to win in All-Ireland in the middle of February now, so that's how well they're going. That's the opposite end of the spectrum. There's a lot of good things to see on Mayo and they seem to be making a lot of grounds. I don't think they can automatically overwrite the stuff they have to work in one season. I think that's going to be two, three years down to try and correct them faults that have let them down so many times over the years. But if any team can stop them, it's Tauron. We had them written off against a few lads had them relegated coming into the Donegal game and they go out and they try and stone it all. And I think that there's triven that. They try and that then we'll get sense in the media in terms of we'll start playing them up and maybe they don't give them that oxygen for the siege mentality. And we start making them favorites for all these games. And maybe then they won't be able to buy into that because I think there was a crisis meeting after Tauron. There was a crisis meeting after the Roscommon result. They stayed in the dressing room for a wee while and they must have had a few home thrutes and they came out and they bounced back. And we all give them plenty ammunition during that weekend. They'll definitely put it up to Mayo. It's too early yet for calling a crisis meeting in Donegal, is it, Emma? Ah, far. We've just got to be patient. We have to realise that the whole process wasn't as tidy like it wasn't tidy up as quick as we would like it. The lads, they're obviously trying to take it in a direction where we kicked more. I know Donegal probably had it come in for, I don't know, it was justified or not. The criticism and harms the style of play and the management have taken it on board and they're trying to take it, changed it up a wee bit. And maybe they'll learn that we have to go to a more defensive model or whatever. But it's far too soon to be having crisis meetings. It'd be brilliant if we could stay in Division One, but ultimately we'd be with the summer time and how well we're doing that there going on the last few years. But just finally, the reality of it is, if you get a one on Sunday, it puts a whole different dynamic on how things are looking in the league. That's how tight things are down there at the bottom of the table. And it could be a different feeling in the county coming Monday morning off the back of one against Galway, Emma. Exactly, exactly. It could be them conversations, could be totally different if we, it's all doom and gloom at the minute, get the right result against Galway and things aren't as bad. We're going well and people start looking to the summer again. And that's just the nature of the base. That's the nature of lots and lots of supporters that it's kind of short-sighted thing. We're not looking at the long-term and what's involved. But changes, we need the result that it'll change the whole dynamic of that gives us a wee bit of hope. But if we lose, you know, it's the complete opposite. It's very, very hard to, you're probably looking at Sir Division One status come to an end. Yeah, we'll try and go into the weekend on a positive note. We'll talk to you again soon. Many thanks for joining us on the Highland. Cheers, Ashley. Thank you.