Martin McHugh has held his hands up and admitted he got it spectacularly wrong by calling Colm Cooper a 'two-trick pony' - but he stands by his view that James O'Donoghue has the potential to be better than the Gooch.

Donegal All-Ireland winner McHugh left himself exposed to a wave of social media criticism when describing the eight-time All-Star as a 'two-trick pony' on 'The Sunday Game' but clarified the point he was trying to get across in his column in today's edition of The Irish Daily Star.

"O'Donoghue is fantastic and I was keen to make it clear how good he is on 'The Sunday Game'," McHugh writes.

"Looking for a comparison, I brought up Cooper but made a mistake by using the phrase 'two-trick pony' to describe the Dr Crokes man.

"It's a clumsy phrase, and one that doesn't stand up.

"But live television is unforgiving. You say something and it's out there.

"Anyone who has read or listened to what I have to say about Gaelic football knows I have the height of respect for Cooper."

McHugh's column concluded: "O'Donoghue is different to Cooper, though, and I made that point in a clumsy way on 'The Sunday Game'.

"To me, Matt Connor of Offaly was the best player I've ever seen. Next in line would be Peter Canavan.

"But, when he hangs up his boots, I really think we could be looking at O'Donoghue as being in that company." Tweet

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