JIM MCGUINNESS SAYS HE would never rule out returning as the Donegal senior football team manager.
After Donegal were beaten by Kerry in the 2014 All-Ireland final, McGuinness opted not to seek a fifth year in charge of the county.
In the four years of his stewardship, Donegal won an All-Ireland in 2012, were victorious in three of the four Ulster finals they played in.
“Never say never,” McGuinness – now a Performance Consultant with Celtic FC – said when queried about a possible return to the position as he stood on stage flanked by his two young sons, Mark Anthony and Jimmy.
Picture caption: Former Donegal manager Jim McGuinness speaks to Charlie Collins at the launch of McGuinness’s autobiography, Until Victory Always, in Glenties this evening.
“I love my county and everyone knows that,” Jim McGuinness added.
“There’s probably a bigger chance of managing these wee chaps. No-one knows what future holds. I enjoyed every minute of it and I’d never say never.”
McGuinness was speaking tonight at the launch of his new autobiography, Until Victory Always, at the Highlands Hotel in his native Glenties.
When the question was first posed by Charlie Collins, who acted as the MC for the occasion, McGuinness quoted from the film Dumb & Dumber and the scene where Lloyd Christmas wonders of Mary Swanson what their chances are of getting together.
“I’d say more like one out of a million,” Mary responds after Llloyd ventures a guess at a ‘one out of a hundred’ chance.
“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance…YEAH!” comes the classic comeback.
McGuinness’s book, ghost-written by Irish Times Chief Sports Writer Keith Duggan, a native of Ballyshannon, charts not just McGuinness’s own personal journey, but that of a team that he picked up from the scrapheap and left them framed heroes of their county.
“It had to be a life experience,” he told an audience of around 500 people in his hometown.
“It had to be about more than football. Respect, character, humility and loyalty were a big part of it.”
McGuinness was a staunch defender of his players and there were times when he issued harsh words to their critics.
There was The Sunday Game the night of his first Ulster Championship game as manager, against Antrim in 2011, after which he hit back at the subsequent game in Cavan.
In 2013, he had stern words on the treatment he felt his players had been subjected to after a bruising Ulster final against Monaghan.
In both cases, he felt his players had been ‘disrespected’.
“People will paint a picture that I was controversial, but we had those values.,” McGuinness said.
“We created hard boundaries; clear boundaries. The first was that we would be the hardest working team in the country.
“I could look the boys in the eye and say: ‘Not one team has trained to the level that we have tonight’. The action was on the back of that boundary.
“When one of our boundaries was respect and someone crossed that boundary, as manager I had to come out and protect the group.”
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