Despite Donegal being seen as the county in crisis, Down are refusing to take them for granted. Along with Limerick footballers and Roscommon hurlers, Donegal became the latest team to lose their manager during the course of the season when Paddy Carr announced he was stepping down from the role last week. While Aidan O'Rourke and Paddy Bradley took charge for the trip to Roscommon, they were unable to stop them falling to a nine-point defeat. One thing is in their favour though, as they now have a four week lead-in to their Ulster Championship clash against Down. They also have been able to call on the services of former Donegal All-Ireland winning manager Jim McGuinness who Clarke admitted had been helping Down out. On the other hand, O'Rourke knows the Down players from two spells acting as coach for the county, with the last spell being the disastrous season last year.