So far in the 2025 season, six of the eight Division 1 teams have used more than one goalkeeper, so Donegal's back-up Gavin Mulreany is staying primed and ready should the call come in Saturday evening’s Ulster final against Armagh.
Given the lack of pre-season competitions, it’s a pretty high number with rule changes, rotation, first-choice uncertainty and a lack of discipline all playing a part.
The St Naul’s man is part of one of the six counties to have given minutes to more than one goalkeeper – starting the league games against Tyrone and Mayo who, incidentally, are the two with ever-presents in the form of Niall Morgan and Colm Reape.
First things first, Mulreany is in no way, shape or form disputing who is Jim McGuinness’s main man.
"I think coming to terms with where I am in the squad and team was probably the first part of it," Mulreany said of the mental battle ahead of the Clones showdown (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
"Obviously I would love nothing more than to be out there playing every day but, if you want to win things, you need your best players.
"And to be fair to Shaun, he's the best ’keeper we have, and he's playing well at the moment too so I wouldn't change that now - as much as I would want to be playing."
Form won't take Patton out of the starting 15 anyway as he has arguably been the best goalkeeper in Ireland this season, but injury meant that Mulreany was cast into the action for the tail-end of last season’s four-goal Ulster SFC bonanza against Derry at Celtic Park before keeping a clean sheet in the semi-final extra-time win over Tyrone.
By the time Ulster final day rolled around, Patton had recovered from a quad injury and went on to play a dramatic role in Donegal’s Anglo Celt success as Armagh were denied by penalties for the fourth time in three seasons.
"Shaun’s number one and he’s a class act, the utmost professional. But he ended up getting injured that day against Derry, I got on and then played the semi-final against Tyrone.
"Playing in the league you wanted more, but after playing in the championship you would be chomping at the bit to get on again.
"I even said to him last year, after he saved the penalties in the Ulster final, how jealous I was that it was him and not me. It was that competitive nature, and you want to be in the limelight for the right reasons."
Now in his third season with the Tir Chonaill county, Mulreany's minutes may be limited but his commitment to the cause can’t be denied.
He looks back on where he’s been to where he has come. Last year he had the perfect view as Donegal claimed their 11th provincial title, but four years earlier he had been watching from Lebanon while on duty with the Irish Defence Forces, who he is currently on leave from, as Cavan caused a Covid-19 shock against his county in the Ulster final.
"Me and Odhrán McFadden-Ferry actually watched the 2020 final out in Lebanon when Cavan beat us," said Mulreaney, who spent the 2022 season with League of Ireland side Finn Harps.
"It was a tough watch. I wasn't involved with the squad at the time, Odhrán was, and it probably was a lot tougher on him because at the time he was a regular starter.
"In that situation, even thinking 'could it have been different if I was there?’ But fair play to Cavan that day, they came out and blew us out of the water.
"I went straight out of school into the army, applied for it and I was nearly a year waiting. I was overseas in Lebanon, I was in Netherlands, England, everywhere playing soccer, that's actually sort of how the start with Finn Harps came.
"I was actually playing up front with the local club team (Donegal Town), I wasn't even playing in goals. But we went down and were competing in the Oscar Traynor Cup and stuff like that.
"We beat the British Army on penalties over in England. I wasn't getting a full year in the Donegal panel and I was getting fed up - I was getting in at the start of the year and I wasn't seeing past Christmas. A lot of boys suffer that."
No 16 for Donegal, No 99 for Finn Harps – Mulreany is less concerned about what’s on the back of the jersey than what he can add to the panel.
This weekend, that will be trying to help Donegal to another Ulster title against big rivals Armagh, even if that role is likely to be getting Patton match ready. Neither player needs reminding that the Orchard County bounced back in perfect fashion last season by lifting the Sam Maguire.
"Listen, it feels like we left it behind us, but fair play to Armagh.
"The resilience they've shown over the last few years - what's their stat in the championship? They haven't lost in normal time since Tyrone (2023). It's crazy.
"Them winning, you can't say they didn't deserve something like that. We beat them on penalties, we drew with them in the league, we beat them very late in the (Division 2) league final. It's not as though they're not a good team, we know they're a very good team.
"It hurt but we didn't get over the line against Galway so we didn't deserve to be there.
"It's funny because Brendan (McCole) would be one of my best friends, I'm pretty sure it was last year we were on about going (to the final), and he was like ‘nah, I couldn't watch that’. I was just saying to him ‘it's not the first final you weren't in, you haven't ever been in one, so what's the point worrying about it?’
"You get another chance at it next year, really knuckle down next year and go again."
Watch the Ulster Football Championship final, Armagh v Donegal, on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
