Cavan must stick with youth – Cunningham

The influx of players like Gearoid McKiernan has pleased Ray Cunningham

RAY Cunningham believes that everyone might be surprised by Cavan in this weekend’s Ulster Championship preliminary round game against Donegal.

That’s not to say that the former Cavan player thinks the much maligned Breffni side can beat the Ulster champions, but he does think that they won’t be as bad as everyone expects.

“I think it will be a tight enough match. Cavan are complete underdogs so they have nothing really to lose, and with Michael Murphy out, they have every chance of running Donegal close. It will be closer than a lot of people think,” Cunningham said.

It is no understatement to say that Cavan are at an extremely low ebb despite the success of their u-21s who won the Ulster Championship. The very public departure of Sean Johnston, then the dismal run in the National League when they again failed to gain promotion, followed by the resignation of Val Andrews has left Cavan football in a low place. Certainly, according to Cunningham, the mood is not good in the county.

“Most people just don’t believe they have much of a chance. That would be more to do with the failure in the National League over the past few years. They kind of hope that Cavan can do well, but they know that they don’t have much of a chance, but they hope that the team can build for the future.”

Even setting aside the fact that Donegal are the reigning champions, the gap in the standard of teams that the two have been playing suggests that the Breffni men could be beat out the gate on Sunday. Donegal were up in division one, albeit where they narrowly avoided relegation, while Cavan played in division three.

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday May 17. Buy your copy now either online; by clicking the subscribe button on this page, or in your local newsagent