Former Monaghan star Conor McManus says the Farney men will be coming up against “the best team in the country at the moment on form" when they meet Donegal in Clones on Easter Sunday.

Jim McGuinness’s side comfortably accounted for Derry in the Ulster senior football championship opener last weekend, winning by 1-25 to 1-15 in the end, and now gear up to face the Division 2 champions in 10 days’ time.

Speaking on BBC Sport NI’s The Social Podcast, McManus said that Monaghan “have tools” to ask questions of the Ulster champions.

"It would be a great one to be getting ready for as a player. I know the Monaghan lads will be looking forward to it," said the Clontibret clubman.

"They're coming into it with confidence from the league campaign they've had but they're also coming up against probably the form team in the country.

"Donegal were the best team in the league in the first three or four games (of the Allianz Football League(, then they switched things around and got ready for Derry (in the Ulster SFC) so you couldn't read into their late league form.

"They are the best team in the country at the moment on form, while Monaghan have probably been playing lower standard teams in Division Two, so this is the best team they will have played in a long time."

He added: "Everything will have to go right for Monaghan to win. On looking at Donegal against Derry they weren't perfect, they were far from perfect. Derry got through them quite easily early doors in the first 15 or 20 minutes and they won their penalty, they got their goal, they fisted over a couple of points so they got a couple of easy scores that you wouldn't think you would necessarily get against this Donegal team, but they did.

"So, they're going into this game [against Monaghan] with something to work on, which I suppose is a positive for Jim McGuinness and his team."

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