EYE EYE CATCHER

IT is never easy to follow in the footsteps of a legend. Neil McGee has a reliable and reassuring slab of granite at the heart of Donegal’s defence for more than a decade, but having turned 36 last November, the Gaoth Dobhair man is not the force he once was. Filling the McGee-shaped hole in the team has been a huge concern for Donegal in recent years. But no longer. Over the spring, Brendan McCole has quietly and effectively established himself as the county’s full-back. The 24-year-old has been his team’s outstanding player this season. In a superb League campaign, he kept players such as Daniel Flynn, Ciarán Kilkenny and Conor McManus scoreless from play while also by clipping Rian O’Neill’s wings in the Ulster SFC opener a fortnight ago. His potential has always been clear, having captained DCU to a Sigerson Cup in 2020, only the third Donegal man to do so after Jim McGuinness and Christy Toye. However, It has only been since he has been stationed at full-back by Declan Bonner that he has really flourished for Donegal. McCole (right) is now his side’s main man-marker, given the job of curtailing the the opposition’s most dangerous forward. In Clones tomorrow, it will be Cavan’s promising young sharpshooter Paddy Lynch. Adding another notch to his belt will confirm that Donegal have finally found someone who can walk comfortably in Neil McGee’s shoes.