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21st February 2017
01:03pm GMT

“The will was 100 per cent there from Big Neil,” said Gallagher on the Donegal Sports Talk podcast. “He was mad keen to go, but he just wasn’t able to shake off the back injury. He was working away in the gym, but he wasn’t symptom free and he’s going to take a period of rest to see if he can get back to a level for club football. “All he knows is Donegal for the last 13 years. The hunger was there, commitment wasn’t an issue and he was enjoying it. It’s just not to be.”Gallagher's retirement, on top of the absence of Odhrán McNiallais and Leo McLoone, begs the question: Who the hell is going to play midfield for Donegal? Cloughaneely’s Jason McGee and Hugh McFadden of Killybegs have started the first two National League matches but Donegal may need an experienced head around the middle. They are in short supply following a raft of departures, with captain Michael Murphy the most likely candidate to fill the slot left by Gallagher's departure. Donegal, like Mayo and Aidan O'Shea, have a conundrum over where best to play their talisman. Ideally Murphy would be positioned closer to goal, where he can do things like this.
But then, he is also the best man to play that ball into the full-forward line. In a perfect world Donegal could clone Murphy, but there is only one Michael Murphy and he may be spending this summer around the middle of the park.