TAIL SPIN

Murphy warning to Donegal over their downward spiral

- PAT NOLAN

MICHAEL MURPHY has warned Donegal of the danger of dropping into the Tailteann Cup following a difficult season.

They will compete in Division Two next year after being relegated and, if they were to finish at the lower end of the table, would be in peril dropping out of the All-Ireland race altogether.

Meath stayed in Division Two but their sixth place finish wasn't enough to safeguard their place in the top tier after Clare reached the Munster final.

Kildare and Cork were also looking over their shoulder as certain results in the provincial series could have seen them demoted.

Murphy said: "Cork were a game or two away from it and all of a sudden with maybe a bit better attacking performance against Derry they could have been in an All-Ireland semi-final so everything is live and possible during the National League campaign.

He acknowledges the fact a number of younger players have been blooded this year, while he is hopeful experienced players like Ryan McHugh will return.

But he added: "They are all ifs and we can't be hanging our hats on that, they need to happen. They didn't happen last year and they need to make it happen this year.