Enda McGinley: Derry panel thinness facing championship exposure

RTÉ GAA analyst Enda McGinley believes that Derry manager Rory Gallagher's decision to operate with a razor-thin panel could be exposed in the coming months as they prepare to start their Ulster Championship defence this weekend.

The Oak Leaf County travel to Brewster Park on Saturday to face Fermanagh with speculation swirling around the fitness of a number of players, most notably midfield keystone Conor Glass and All-Star defender Chrissy McKaigue.

Eoin McEvoy, Padraig McGrogan, Conor Doherty and Oisin McWilliams, who is expected to miss out this weekend with a shin problem, have all been on the treatment table recently too.

That’s a red flag for McGinley who realises that in such a small ecosystem, injuries can prove extra disruptive.

It's also why, he believes, that Gallagher successfully pushed to have the county’s Ulster under-20 semi-final with Donegal played earlier so they wouldn’t be caught out by the seven-day rule that would have prevented the five players on both panels from facing Fermanagh.

"Going back to the thinness of the Derry panel, which I think was exposed against Dublin," he told the RTÉ GAA Podcast.

"They’ve moved Brendan Rogers out [from full-back] because Emmet Bradley is away this year, who was playing midfield.

"Yes, Eoin McEvoy has come in, great, but it means that your options are thinner on the ground again.

"Oisin McWilliams, who was one of their main subs to come in, if he’s out, if Conor Glass is out, you're looking at a really, really stretched team.

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