Jim McGuinness makes All-Ireland admission after first year back as Donegal manager
Even though it was Jim McGuinness's first year back as manager, some commentators feel this might have been his best chance of All-Ireland glory
There is a feeling that Donegal are one of many counties with regrets over 2024.
Sure, they came back from a terrible season the year before to get promoted from Division Two and win the Ulster title. But they then watched Armagh win the All-Ireland - the team they'd beaten in both the Division Two and Ulster finals.
Donegal's route to Sam Maguire in the All-Ireland series was Louth, Galway and Armagh - so they'd have avoided Dublin and Kerry.
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Even though it was Jim McGuinness's first year back as manager, some commentators feel this might have been his best chance of All-Ireland glory.
But McGuinness is adamant that this is not the case.
"No, because we weren’t ready to win it. You might say it was an opportunity missed. We played Dublin in that semi-final in ‘11 and Kerry would have been in the final. If we had played Kerry in that final, we would have been annihilated because we weren’t ready to win it,'' McGuinness told the Irish News.
"The first year is absolutely crazy. Even coming in as a manager for the second or third time, it makes it a bit easier but not much. It’s still a new group. I knew nothing about those fellas, now I know an awful lot about them. All the other parts are in place.
"It leaves you in a better position that way. You need to be ready to win it. When I say ready, you need to be ready physically, tactically. We weren’t in ‘11, we’d only half of the jigsaw. And you need to be ready here [pointing to his temple]. You need to believe you can do it.
"That’s the biggest challenge for the likes of a Donegal. And fair play to Armagh. They won the All-Ireland and you can’t win it without believing you can win it.
"When a Dublin player wakes up on January 1, they’re not thinking about second place. A Kerry player is not thinking about second place. There’s a sense of entitlement there. ‘Why wouldn’t we win it? Of course this is our year’.''
McGuinness feels that his team are still a bit short of being All-Ireland contenders, but that progress is being made.
"We’re in a far better place now than they would have been in but I definitely don’t feel that they’re right there. But see if you get everything right, it guarantees you nothing other than that you’re in the fight,'' he said.
"There was gaps in us last year and we weren’t ready to win it, but we were in the fight. We came a long way in a short space of time. We won Division Two, we won the Ulster title, massive achievement for them.
"We punched holes in the group stage and the All-Ireland series. If we held our nerve in the last 15 minutes of the Galway game, we could have been in the final.
"Whether that’s a blessing or not, I don’t know. I’m not bitter or annoyed about it, you’re just stunned after the game because you don’t want the season to end. On reflection, we weren’t ready. If we’re ready this year on all fronts, the only thing it guarantees you is you’re in the fight.''
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