RYAN McHugh believes the biggest strength Jim McGuinness will bring to Galway is the way he treats “every single session like it was the night before the All-Ireland final”.
McHugh was just too young to have been involved in Donegal’s All-Ireland success that his elder brother Mark had a huge hand in in 2012.
The Kilcar man joined the panel the following year and was central to their return to the decider in 2014, not least in his memorable display against Dublin in the famous All-Ireland semi-final.
He worked under McGuinness for those two years and after news that Galway are considering a more formal arrangement for the rest of the season after the ex-Tir Chonaill boss took training at the weekend, McHugh feels the energy he brings to the training pitch can be hugely significant.
“Being fortunate enough to work with Jim in 2013 and 2014, I thought his biggest strength was that he treated every single session like it was the night before the All-Ireland final.
“No matter if it was November, December, January, every night he brought it. Brought the intensity we needed.
“He just brought ‘it’. He had us on it every single night. That’s what led him to great things, his intensity, his drive, and his love for Donegal.
“Galway might be a wee bit different but his love for Donegal football was unbelievable, and the time and effort he put into it.
“No more than everyone, the effort and love and time Declan has for Donegal football is the exact same. It’s probably just something Donegal, at the time Jim came in, weren’t used to. The stuff he did for Donegal was unbelievable.
“I’m not sure about the Galway thing and I haven’t been chatting to Jim in a while so I’m not sure what his plans are, but I think it’s great for football the fact that he’s back.
“What he brought to the GAA as a whole was unbelievable, and what he brought to Donegal especially was phenomenal. He gave the players and the people of Donegal the best days of their life, so it’s great to see him back involved in the game.”
McHugh remains convinced that the county final between his club Kilcar and Naomh Conaill will eventually get played, having been postponed owing to an outbreak of Covid-19 cases the week of the decider that led to its postponement.
Knowing that it won’t happen until Donegal are finished up has allowed him to turn his attention back to the inter-county setup and a weekend meeting with Tyrone, two weeks ahead of a knockout Ulster SFC tie.
While McHugh is looking forward to its uniqueness, he wouldn’t be in favour of going back to the ways of his father Martin’s time and playing straight knockout in Ulster permanently.
“No, I wouldn’t to be honest. I don’t think it is fair that, as much as I’m looking forward to it, you’re just accepting the way things are.
“Going forward, I don’t think it’s fair that, in our opinion, two of the top five or six teams are meeting each other in the first round and one will be out, that’s their championship over. In different provinces, you probably don’t get two of the top five meeting each other.
“I don’t think it’s fair that way. I think the back door system has worked well in giving teams another chance. You train all year to have one match to be out of the competition.
“I love playing Ulster football. The best days of my life so far have been winning Ulster with Donegal and coming back into Donegal town to celebrate.
“I wouldn’t change anything with the Ulster Championship or provincials, but I think the back door should stay, definitely.”
