Donegal manager Mickey McCann returns for a fourth year in charge of the Tir Chonaill stick men.

McCann enjoyed a fantastic season in 2020, as his team won the Nickey Rackard Cup and the Division 3A title.

Those results will have helped eased the pain of their relegation from the Christy Ring and Division 2B in 2019.

The Donegal hurlers are fantastically talented and they have a good deal of depth in their squad.

They have learned some tough lessons in the last few years, and they have taken some big scalps, and regularly beaten their neighbours Tyrone and Armagh.

Getting a chance to have a clip at Derry should excite McCann and his charges,

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Donegal have played in Division 2B before so they will know what to expect.

They will also know the mistakes that can be made. That experience should really stand to them.

Perhaps if there is an issue they need to address based on performances last year, then it is their efficiency.

In a few of their matches they were almost undone by their wastefulness in front of the posts. That was certainly the case in their opening game against Armagh.

Yet they shouldn’t need any motivation to compete. They will see themselves as a true Division Two team, and in this game confidence is so crucial.

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After the frustration of being relegated out of Division 2B in 2019, 2020 was a fantastic season for the Donegal hurlers.

They ended the season as Nickey Rackard champions, and gained promotion up to Division 2B.

The Nickey Rackard victory was sweet as they beat a fancied Mayo team in the final, however you could argue getting up to Division 2B was more important.

The reason being is that they defeated Armagh in the final, an Armagh team who had had a deadly attack during the 2020 campaign, scoring nine goals in six matches. More than anyone else in the division.

Donegal had lost their opening round game to Armagh on home soi by a 0-15 to 2-17 scoreline, so they were on the back foot from the start of the campaign.

The issue in that opener was wastefulness as they hit a string of wides that allowed Armagh to take the spoils.

Yet they bounced back with a 2-23 to 1-15 win over a Tyrone team who would have been out to take the Donegal scalp, as they were talking Tir Chonaill up as one of the favourites to win the league beforehand.

Longford and Armagh were leading Division 3A before Donegal met Louth. They would win against the Wee county, but it was a close-run thing and they needed a goal from Danny Cullen to secure the 2-9 to 1-10 win.

In round four they beat a Monaghan team who were struggling. But that set them up for their final match against Longford.

A win would secure them a place in the league final and they duly delivered. Longford had led by one point at half time, but scores from Lee Henderson and Declan Coulter edged Donegal ahead, and they kept in front for the remainder.

That set up the league final against Armagh. The Orchard county were expected to reach the final, but they did so with two draws along the way. That suggested that they were not the force that they had been in previous years.

Donegal’s fitness was key in the final. They had a six-point lead at half time, but needed to work tirelessly in the second half to hold Armagh off.

They did so and it marked a great end to their campaign.