JIM McGuinness will need some new tricks up his sleeve to repeat the success he had with Donegal in his first spell as manager.
That’s the view of Aaron Kernan who came up against McGuinness and his all-conquering Tir Chonaill teams several times between 2011 and 2014. Football has changed since then but Kernan has no doubt that the Glenties GAA guru will be able to work his magic with his native county once again.
“Looking at it from an Armagh perspective, I think Ulster has just got tougher to win next year,” said the Crossmaglen native.
“Have no doubt about it, Jim will be plotting and planning and spotting the weaknesses of everyone he’s coming up against. He’s starting in Division Two which is a good thing for him and he’ll be able to get confidence into the group, get them believing in what he’s saying.
“He did go down the soccer route but he was still heavily involved in the GAA in coaching teams and his punditry work so he’ll be up to speed with the ins-and-outs of what’s working and what’s not.
“He’s based back in Donegal so he knows what’s happening in the club scene and with the county players and he has able assistants in with him in Neil McGee and Colm McFadden who will have the finger on the pulse in terms of what type of player they have and creating a gameplan that suits them.
“It’ll be interesting to see what he does. Will he do the same as the last time? In my opinion that won’t work because football has moved on and with match analysis the better teams won’t get caught the way they did.
“He brought something totally different the first time. What does he do now?”
Kernan scored two points when Armagh swatted Donegal aside in the Qualifiers in 2010. John Joe Doherty (who had been appointed at the start of that season with McGuinness overlooked) resigned as manager and so the Donegal County Board turned to the Glenties native with the Midas touch.
The following year Donegal were Ulster champions, the year after that Michael Murphy accepted the Sam Maguire in Croke Park.
“When you look back on it now, maybe they didn’t get the credit they deserved,” said Kernan.
“To go from rock-bottom, a laughing-stock in 2010 to being All-Ireland champions… I don’t think anyone has come from that far down the pecking order.”
Read more:
A man never dies while his name is spoken... Ballyholland Harps remember Kieran Sands
Brendan Devenney: The time is right for McGuinness to return
The conditions are ripe for McGuinness to work his magic again. Donegal failed to fulfil their potential under Declan Bonner, Michael Murphy retired, Bonner’s replacement Paddy Carr resigned, Donegal were relegated and knocked out of Ulster by Down and, although there was a rally late in the season, Aidan O’Rourke, the caretaker manager, stepped down after the All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Tyrone.
McGuinness has three full months to prepare and plan for next season and Kernan believes he will already have started that process. As a legend in Donegal, he has the track record and the personality to get the entire county buying into what he hopes to achieve.
“He has time to get strength and conditioning teams in place, talk to physios and doctors and find out about injuries and whether there’s patterns there,” Kernan explained.
“He can talk to the Kilcar manager about Paddy McBrearty and all his hamstring injuries… There is a lot of stuff he can iron out over the next three months in terms of rehab and conditioning. Last year they had too many injuries and a lot of that stuff needs to be sorted out now and someone of his stature will get away with doing that.
“That’s something that will be key for him because they were crippled and riddled with injuries this year. He’ll want to have as many boys as possible capable of starting flat-out when the League kicks off in January. No better man to do that than him.”
