GET READY FOR THE BALLYBOFEY BATTLE

Bonner sees fierce tactical struggle against Ulster rivals

Bonner played up Tyrone and said: “It’s very difficult to pin Tyrone on one thing, to me they’re very solid collectively.

“They play as a group, they play as a unit, they defend in numbers, they attack in numbers.

“They seem to be getting the blend right. They’re the one team that’s probably – since their defeat to Monaghan and that hiccup against Meath – that’s started to build momentum going through the back door and they look to be in serious form. They played very well against Dublin without getting anything out of it. It’s going to be a cracking match, no doubt about it, a fierce tactical battle and we’re hoping that we can come up with the answers.”

Donegal have already had a successful Championship under ex-underage guru Bonner by winning the Ulster title for the first time since 2014.

They took four games to do that and if they beat Tyrone today will have overcome five of the seven Ulster teams in the same summer, underlining their northern dominance.

But Bonner has even bigger fish to fry and is concentrating on joining the game’s elite in the semi-finals having last reached that stage in 2014.

The former Donegal star said: “It’s a huge, huge carrot at the end of the day. A win over Tyrone and you’re into the last four. “At the start of the season when we were training in Convoy on wet and dreary nights, you sometimes say to yourself, ‘Jaysus, what’s this all about?’. But as the weather picks up and the evenings get longer and you get into Championship conditions, you know then what it’s all about. “And there’s no better place to be than getting ready for this match against Tyrone and the huge prize that’s on offer.” Home advantage is a giant boost to Donegal who haven’t lost a League or Championship game in Ballybofey since 2010. Bonner said: “It’s in our own back yard in Maccumhaill Park – what an occasion that is going to be.”