'Donegal shouldn't take this game for granted, Clare won't lie down' - John Maughan

Former Clare manager John Maughan believes that the Munster side still has the potential to come up with big shocks and he would not be surprised if they produced one this weekend against Donegal in Castlebar. 

The former Banner boss famously took Clare to only their second Munster title ever, back in 1992, when they shocked provincial heavyweights Kerry.  

It is a day still best remembered for the birth of the "there won't be a cow milked" quote, as RTÉ's Marty Morrissey did his best to sum up the magnitude of the famous win over the Kingdom.  

Clare would eventually fall to Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-finals. However, Brian McEniff's Donegal would create their own seismic dent in that same summer by lifting Sam Maguire, for the first time ever, on that glorious September Sunday by Jones' Road. 

Maughan says while things haven't gone to plan for Clare to date in the All-Ireland series, he explains there is still a great honesty about them.  

But he insists they need to find a system or approach to frustrate Donegal on Saturday in the hope of finding a narrow win.   

“My experience of Clare down through the years, I saw it when I managed them in the 90s and I see it now with this current team, there’s just a tradition in them, that when they’re at their lowest, and nobody is giving them any hope, that’s when they can come and surprise you the most,” Maughan said.  

“They seem to be a county, and I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, that don’t have the most gifted footballers in the world, but there’s an honesty to them, they will give you everything.  

“I noticed that when I was manager, they would go to the well time and time again.  

“We talk about maximising your potential, that is what Clare has done for years, and they may not always get the results, but eventually they will get the results.  

“So you can never take them for granted and Donegal shouldn't take them for granted either this weekend because that would be a big mistake.”  

Despite being at a low ebb last season, Donegal still turned in a competent second-half showing to overcome Clare 0-14 to 0-9 in the first Group 4 game of the All-Ireland round-robin championship in Cusack Park.  

And while Donegal are a far different side 12 months down the line, Maughan notes that Clare has transitioned too with a boost of new players.  

“If you look at the current Clare squad, I think they have seven or eight new players in their starting squad from last season," he said.  

“And I think what the current management are getting out of them is really typical of Clare, they’re giving their all. 

“Now having said that, we need to acknowledge that Donegal are in a different place right now.  

“They’re a different force and that’s largely down to the presence of Jim McGuinness and what he brings to the setup. But let me tell you this, Clare won’t lie down this weekend.  

“I think Donegal will win this match on Saturday in Castlebar, but it won’t be easy.  

“And they’ll know after what happened to them against Cork, they simply can’t afford not to be going at it one hundred percent and I don’t expect them to be either. They will be going hell for leather, no doubt.  

“If Donegal show up like we know they can, they'll probably be too good, over the 70-minute period, in terms of their skill and pace.  

“So Clare are going to have to make awkward for them and find a way to frustrate them and stay with them for as long as they can. 

“The longer they stay in the game, the better chance they'll have of causing that upset.”