'There wasn't a day I didn't think about it'

JIM McGuinness has revealed he thought about the 2014 All-Ireland final loss to Kerry every day until he resumed the role of Donegal boss last season.

- BY PADDY TIERNEY

As he prepares to lead Donegal into battle in an All-Ireland final for the third time and for a second time against the Kingdom, McGuinness opened up on the torment of losing a final.

During his first stint in charge of his native county, he won an All-Ireland crown in 2012 at the expense of Mayo.

Two years later, Donegal toppled Dublin in a seismic semifinal battle. Dublin's next Championship loss wouldn't come until their last four loss to Mayo in 2021.

However, Donegal fell short against Kerry in the final, with Kieran Donaghy ruthlessly punishing a rare error from a Paul Durcan restart to plunder a vital goal midway through the second half, and the Kingdom eventually winning by 2-9 to 0-12.

Speaking at Donegal’s press night at Convoy last Tuesday, McGuinness was asked how long that defeat lingered.

“I would say until I got back involved, I would say there wasn't a day I didn’t think about it,” said McGuinness.

“I can remember walking about the hotel after we lost in a daze. I didn't know what happened, didn't know where I was, didn’t know what actually had gone wrong there and taking a step back from that and trying to work that out.

“It’s very, very painful. You're in a banquet and there's 1,200 people and you don’t want to see anybody. That's not a nice place to be.

“All of that factors into it but I think when you get back on the horse, then you're not thinking about the past, you're thinking about what you need to do.

“You're thinking about moving forward and we have moved forward and we've created this opportunity.