Former Derry star Paddy Bradley insists it will be “business as usual for me” as he attempts to help mastermind a Donegal win over his native county in the All-Ireland SFC on Sunday.

“When you take on the job of managing a different club or a different county, there’s a possibility that some day you’re going to come up against your own club or your own county,” Donegal assistant Bradley told BBC Sport NI.

“I just happen to be in that boat at the weekend.

“There are two points up for grabs. We have a home fixture. Donegal generally have a good record in Ballybofey and we think it’s a game that we’re capable of winning.”

Few would have fancied Donegal a month ago

A month ago, few would have given Donegal any chance of beating a Derry side who seemed at the peak of their form at that stage.

But as we know, a lot has happened in four weeks with Rory Gallagher no longer Derry manager and the Oak Leafers’ form having noticeably dipped even though they were able to retain the Ulster title by beating Armagh in a penalty shootout before struggling to a home draw with Monaghan last weekend.

Donegal football appeared in its lowest ebb for many a year when the county lost to Division Three Down in the Ulster Championship after a turbulent winter and spring which saw Paddy Carr’s brief managerial reign end just before the team’s relegation to Division Two was confirmed which led to his backroom men Aidan O’Rourke and Bradley taking the managerial reins.

But what a difference one result can seemingly make with Donegal having dug out a gritty win in Ennis following an impressive second-half display which puts them top of Group Four going into this weekend’s round of fixtures.

“It had been that long, the Kerry game in the league [round one], when we had a victory,” said Bradley of the Ennis game.

“In the first half it didn’t look good even though we had plenty of possession. We were making really bad decisions on the ball.

“But we showed a hell of a lot more composure in the second half and obviously the main players, the likes of Ciaran Thompson, Oisin Gallen and the older lads, really stood up.

“It was a great journey up the road. It makes a difference coming up on the road on a bus when everyone is happy and in good form.

“Training has been going really, really well ever since. It’s a really good lift from that and we’re really looking forward to the weekend.”

Following his team’s struggles in only drawing against Monaghan in their Group Four opener last weekend, Derry manager Ciaran Meenagh said that Donegal “will fancy their chances” this weekend and Bradley doesn’t demur from that assessment.

“It’s a home fixture for us. It’s one we’ve been targeting. We think we’ve turned a bit of a corner. Players are coming back from injury. So we feel, it’s two points we can get.

“We’re not silly. Derry are double Ulster champions, have some fantastic players and are going to be huge favourites but if we start the game well and grow into it the way we did in Ennis, there is definitely no reason why we can’t get something out of it.”

‘Match-ups a puzzle’

Bradley says “getting the match-ups right for this weekend is proving a huge puzzle but that’s part and parcel of what management is about”.

“They have serious pace in their team. They have so many weapons that can hurt you but we think we can match up with them really well and that we’re capable of getting something out of it.”

The Donegal assistant believes that the series of surprise results thus far in the Super 16s which included All-Ireland champions Kerry’s surprise home defeat by Mayo and Dublin’s draw with Roscommon has “thrown things wide open”.

“The benefit of topping your group is that you get to an All-Ireland quarter-final directly and you get an extra week’s rest. That’s what we’ll be targeting and for us to do that, we’ll obviously have to get something out of the game at the weekend so we can’t look any further than Sunday.”

In terms of Donegal’s injury count, Bradley says this week “comes too soon” for Patrick McBrearty but that he could be in contention for the concluding Group Four match with Monaghan on the weekend of 17-18 June.

Michael Langan sustained a similar hamstring ailment to McBrearty in the Down defeat and remains unavailable along with Peadar Mogan but Jason McGee, who came on as a half-time substitute in Ennis, and Stephen McMenamin have regained full fitness and will be available for Sunday’s game.