Donegal v Tyrone: Red Hands 'favourites' despite Tir Chonaill resurgence, says Paddy Bradley

Paddy Bradley says Donegal must raise their performance levels to beat Tyrone on Saturday

Donegal coach Paddy Bradley says Tyrone are favourites for Saturday's All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final clash in Ballybofey despite the Tir Chonaill side's resurgence in recent weeks.

Donegal have home advantage after finishing second in Group Four, with Tyrone forced to travel to MacCumhaill Park after placing third in Group Two.

After being relegated to Division Two and dumped out of Ulster by Down, Donegal have shown signs of a revival in recent weeks with wins over Clare and Monaghan in the round-robin series.

However, despite that and the fact that Tyrone came incredibly close to exiting the championship at the hands of Westmeath last week, Bradley still feels the Red Hands must be considered favourites to advance to the last eight.

"At this stage of the competition you expect to get nothing easy," the former Derry forward told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.

"Tyrone obviously will go in as favourites. But we've been improving in the last number of weeks. We've been happy enough with the performances but we'll have to improve if we're to win on Saturday."

Having lost talismanic figures Neil McGee and Michael Murphy to retirement, Donegal have endured a rough 2023 for the most part.

On the pitch, they were relegated from Division One following a turbulent campaign which included the resignation of manager Paddy Carr after just five months in charge.

Despite Aidan O'Rourke moving up from his head coach role to take Carr's position, a reprieve was not quickly forthcoming as they were knocked out of the Ulster Championship with defeat by Down at Pairc Esler.

There was unrest off the pitch, too, with county great Karl Lacey quitting his role as academy chief in February citing a lack of support from the county board.

But the five-point loss in Newry was the turning point, according to Bradley, who feels the county is in a much stronger position as they gear up for a push for a third Sam Maguire Cup.

"Ever since the Down defeat, we've really put the head down," added Bradley.

"It's not been one thing. Everyone has worked really hard. We've circled the wagons a bit, got to the training field and have tweaked a few things.

"The confidence has grown after getting a result or two."

'This is where it counts, where it matters'

Unlike Donegal, Tyrone - who are striving to return to the levels which saw them claim an Ulster and All-Ireland double in 2021 - retained their Division One status for 2024.

However, like their neighbours, they fell at the first hurdle in Ulster (with a dramatic loss to Monaghan) and were unable to guarantee an All-Ireland quarter-final spot, finishing third in Group Two behind Armagh and Galway.

The four-time All-Ireland winners needed John Heslin's last-gasp missed free to survive as they drew 0-18 to 0-18 with Westmeath in Cavan, but Bradley is wary of Tyrone's prowess when it comes to knockout championship football.

"To me, from experience, Tyrone are most dangerous when they are being written off," said Bradley.

"They've obviously got a lot of experience and some class players. They'll start the game as favourites but we think we have a good chance."

He added: "It's not that long since Tyrone were All-Ireland champions and they've retained many of those players.

"Darren McCurry didn't play at the weekend but we're expecting him to play and then you have Darragh and Ruairi Canavan entering the fold too. Tyrone are a match for anybody, we're hoping they'll have another off day at the weekend.

Fit-again Oisin Gallen (left) has been key to an upturn in Donegal's fortunes in recent weeks

"But I'm sure they'll have talked about their near-exit at the weekend and we're expecting Tyrone to bring plenty of fire and their best performance. Donegal will have to improve the performance levels by five or 10% to match them."

While a lack of jeopardy meant the early round-robin matches were largely subdued, the race for Sam caught fire last week as Dublin, Derry, Kerry and Armagh secured their places in the last eight.

And with Galway hosting Mayo in a huge Connacht derby on Sunday, this weekend promises more drama as top-level teams exit the championship.

"It's knockout football. It's all been shadow-boxing up until now," admits Bradley.

"This is where it counts, where it matters. This is what all the training's been for.

"We've always believed since we took over the job that Donegal were good enough at least to get to the last eight of an All-Ireland, but it's all about proving it at Ballybofey on Sunday.

"We need to bring our best performance and put our best foot forward."

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