Pandora's box: Donegal are in shambles, claims Cavanagh

Behind the scenes turmoil in Donegal football has reached "shambolic" levels and left the Ulster county trailing in the wake of the top All-Ireland contenders, according to former Tyrone ace, Sean Cavanagh.

Donegal were hammered at home by Mayo in Allianz Football League action on Sunday, their latest defeat of a pitiful league campaign which has seen them collect just one win in six games, leaving them rooted firmly to the bottom of the Division 1 table.

Coming in the wake of former county star Karl Lacey's acrimonious departure as head of the county's underage academy, the signs are there that barren days may be ahead for the 2012 All-Ireland champions.

"Karl Lacey departing was the opening of the Pandora's box," said Cavanagh, speaking on RTÉ's League Sunday programme.

"It's baffling for me, as a Tyrone man, much as a I love seeing Donegal suffer, the level of expertise and high performance they have in Karl Lacey, Jim McGuinness, Michael Murphy... they're generational-type winners and to let people like that disappear from a county fold all within a year, is shambolic really.

"You look at this disconnect that sometimes can be there in the GAA. You have to remember, the way the GAA is set up, there can be amateurs sitting on committees who are so far removed from the high-performance culture that exists within the mindset of those type of players."

The brain-drain in Donegal is a familiar story at clubs and counties around the GAA. Often times, the best and brightest slip through the cracks - on and off the pitch.

"You just have a massive disconnect because Karl Lacey doesn't understand why the county isn't supporting him to try and push on the youth of Donegal to get them back to winning All-Irelands," Cavanagh added.