They were in sunny Portugal the week before Easter, topping off their championship preparations. They already topped Division Two of the league and will get a useful test run in Croke Park on Sunday against Ulster rivals Monaghan. So why the slight sense of unease about Donegal football?

It’s the old issue of club conflicts and not just the scheduling of games but the near total postponing of them: manager Jim McGuinness has already had all club championship matches put off until after his team are eliminated from the All-Ireland series, and last weekend also saw the postponement of some club league games, as they were scheduled a little too close to Donegal’s return from that training camp in Portugal.

"It's obviously difficult, and you do feel for the club players in a way," says forward Paddy McBrearty. "For us county players there is kind of a mixed opinion on it. The senior management don't want the players to be injured but the club still needs to play games. I don't think you can win in either situation.

Club players
"And you would hear odd remarks. Like at club games on Sunday, there were boys giving out, club players talking about going to America for the summer, and stuff like that. So it is a hard one. I don't think there is a win-win situation for the county board. . . ."

The issue came to a head at the end of 2012 when then footballer of the year Karl Lacey ended up playing three club games in seven days, and sustained a hip injury that essentially ruined his 2013 season. Still McBrearty believes there has to be some room for compromise.

“When a team is on an All-Ireland run, the whole championship is practically off until October and there are probably ten or 12 championship games in the space of three weeks which doesn’t feel good at all. I wouldn’t like to be at the head of the fixtures board at all in a county that is challenging for an All-Ireland. But something needs to be done.”

McBrearty believes Donegal have done everything possible to get their All-Ireland challenge back on track after the disappointment of last summer. The six-day training camp in Portugal – the first time McGuinness took his team overseas for such an exercise – certainly served its purpose.

"We got a lot of conditioning done, and you are living in a professional environment for a week, so it was really beneficial. It was also a good bonding session for some of the new lads that came in over the winter so it was good to get to know them as well."

No secret
It has, presumably, also left them suitably tuned up for Sunday's final against Monaghan – the team that took their Ulster title last summer. However, McBrearty makes no secret of the fact that Donegal's big focus is the Ulster championship opener against Derry, in Celtic Park, on May 25th.

With that comes the question of just how close Donegal are to rediscovering their All-Ireland-winning form of 2012. McBrearty suggests that last season wasn’t quite as poor as some folk suggested.

“I suppose at the start of last year our main objective was the Tyrone game, which is a lot different to this year. Monaghan then blew us out of the water in the Ulster final, and they will be a force for years to come in Ulster. People might say it was a bad year. But we got to an Ulster final, which five or six years ago would have been a big thing for Donegal football. . . .

“This year it’s been easier to go about our business, playing in Division Two. As All-Ireland champions there is a massive expectation of you. Maybe this time we are coming in under the radar a little bit.”