Donegal 'right there' despite relegation battle

Eoghan Ban Gallagher believes Donegal are right up there with the best teams in Division One

Reports of Donegal's demise, or even the suggestion of it, has Eoghan Ban Gallagher bristling.

In fact, he believes Donegal "are right there" in the chasing pack behind his standout teams of Kerry and Dublin.

When it's put to him that staying in Division One would be an achievement for a team that was expected to struggle under a new manager and without stellar players like Murphy (retired) and injured trio Paddy McBrearty, Ciaran Thompson and Ryan McHugh, Gallagher said: "I don't agree with that, now".

He added: "I think there's nothing between the teams up around the top.

"Kerry and Dublin are at a level above everyone else and the other seven or eight teams are all fairly close.

"We seen Galway got to an All-Ireland final last year.

"Armagh almost beat them, and we beat Armagh twice last year. Dublin and Kerry are a wee step above but I think we're right there with the next best."

• Donegal fight back in Galway draw as Monaghan beat Roscommon

Alongside Oisin Gallen and Michael Langan, Sunday's 1-9 to 1-9 draw with Galway in Letterkenny was just Eoghan Ban's second game of the season after the previous week's defeat in Monaghan.

The joint vice-captain led the team in the absence of injured skipper Paddy McBrearty and he was delighted with their rousing finish, scoring three of the last four points to grab a valuable league point in their fight to avoid the drop - although Donegal still remain in a relegation spot after the weekend action.

"I was just delighted with the fight we showed more than the actual performance," he admitted.

"It's only one game, and the best teams in the country are very consistent.

"Dublin for years and now Kerry are very consistent. We want to be competing for the All-Ireland and that is something we have to strive for.

"It's just a building block, I think the usual mark you need to get is six or seven points to be safe but we need to kick on now.

"We played Armagh three times last year, we came out on top twice and they beat us then in the qualifiers so we are very familiar with each other now going into the game.

"We know it's going to be a battle. We're going to start enjoying that, it's something we need to embrace."

Mayo put four goals past a leaky Tyrone defence on Saturday

Tyrone troubles

While Donegal will head to the Athletic Grounds on Saturday with a spring in their step, Monaghan too will be buoyed by a second home win on the bounce as they head west to face Galway.

They started the season badly, but back-to-back wins over Donegal and Roscommon at Clones should be no surprise to anyone, given they've only lost at home five times since their proud run in Division One began nine years ago.

However, those weekend wins for Monaghan and Donegal, allied to their own woes in Connacht - where they've travelled three times in the last few weeks and lost every time - has left Tyrone rock bottom of Division One.

With only three rounds remaining, the stakes could not be higher when old foes Kerry travel to Healy Park on Sunday for what is absolutely a must-win for the Red Hands.