Returning hero McGlynn keen to keep up the feel-good factor against Dublin
WHEN Frank McGlynn saw the board go up, his heart tugged and his mind told him that the time had come.
There was just a minute to go until half-time and a one-sided qualifier was getting out of hand as Galway led Donegal 3-9 to 0-7.
Trailing by 11 points, Donegal had already replaced Mark Anthony McGinley, who’d been black carded, and Jamie Brennan. With the interval just moments away, McGlynn was called ashore by Rory Gallagher.
Eventually coaxed back by new manager Declan Bonner, McGlynn, who was also taken off at half-time in the 2017 Ulster semi-final loss to Tyrone, knows that events could have taken a much different course after that night in Markievicz Park when Donegal were annihilated 4-17 to 0-14.
“We were in dire straits and being totally overwhelmed,” McGlynn recalled.
“I wasn’t used to being taken off, but those games didn’t go well for me and Rory decided to replace me. I don’t hold that against him one bit.
“Things weren’t going well for me. That was the most disappointing thing – regardless of staying on or coming off. I wasn’t influencing games. That was something I was keen to change this year.”
McGlynn was replaced in the Ulster championship games against Cavan, Derry and Down this year, but the thundering roar that greeted the soft-spoken Glenfin man was a marker of how he had returned to his throne again.
“The smile on the face comes from victories,” McGlynn said ahead of tomorrow’s ‘Super 8s’ clash with Dublin at Croke Park.
“It’s a far cry from where we were last year as a team and for me individually. You have to give Declan credit for turning it around.”
McGlynn was one of the first players Bonner sought out after taking the reins following Gallagher’s departure.
“Being there for a number of years, you know from the talk what the aspirations are. Declan was very clear. He was used to winning things and wanted to repeat that with us.
“As everybody knows in Gaelic football, even if you had a great last year, it starts off back at scratch again this year.
“You’re only ever as good as your last game. So, while we had low