It may be the only way….
Ahead of the All-Ireland final on Sunday, there is no doubt that Donegal boss Jim McGuinness has a plan in mind for stopping Kerry’s maverick, David Clifford.
Over the years, many of the sport’s best have tried to curb his output, but such is his talent that it is often a futile endeavour.
Speaking with SportsJOE, Eamonn McGee – an All-Ireland winner with Donegal in 2012 and a feared defender – discussed how his county will try and stop the talisman.
McGee is sure that Caolan McColgan will be tasked with marking Clifford, but despite being at the “top of his game”, he will need help.
In terms of how he would deal with him if he was still playing, he suggested stretching the rules somewhat.
He said: “Eamonn McGee would have a lot of approaches, I don’t know would a lot of them be legal or within the rules.
“And I’ve seen it, even the sledging craic or winding him up, I don’t think would work with Clifford.
“I think it just winds him up further. His confidence is at such a level that even if you take a wee bit off him, he still has more than enough to be in that zone.”
He added: “With Clifford, you have a bounce, you have a solo. You turn him on to his right, he has his right foot.
“Get him outside where you think that the shot isn’t on. We saw that one with the kick pass where he won the ball, and he gets up, bang and over the bar.”
On the suggestion that Kerry are a one-man team, boss Jack O’Connor said: “It’s always the mantra by us that we want the burden shared.
“We’ve managed to do that fairly well in different games. The likes of Joe O’Connor, Seán O’Shea, and different players have stepped up on different days.
“I don’t think we’re a one-man team, the way some people try to portray us.
“There’s a good share of experience in the room. Most of them are going into their fourth All-Ireland. A couple of them – Paul Murphy and Paul Geaney – are going into their sixth All-Ireland.
“There’s a good bit of experience and that always helps.”
