Rory Kavanagh's retirement has left a void in the Donegal set-up that will be difficult to fill admits manager Rory Gallagher.

Speaking to The Belfast Telegraph, the new manager revealed he was aware of Kavanagh's decision to quit as far as back as October.

"I spoke to Rory in October time before I was even appointed manager and he had informed me then that he was very happy in his own mind that he had finished.

"We gave him a bit more time then to reflect but he felt that it was the best thing for him.

"The thing you would have to understand is that quite selfishly, we would love to have him, but we understand that he has to do what is right for himself."

Gallagher added: "That's the thing Rory said. He said, 'listen, I feel that there are plenty of boys capable of taking over from me'.

"Obviously Martin (McElhinney) is one of them, Odhran MacNiallais is another. We have Christy Toye back fit now.

"While we would love to have him, we will have to park that and move on. It's up to other people to step up to the plate. Thankfully, we have had time to absorb it and move on and make plans."

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