McGuinness on Murphy's Donegal return: 'We’re delighted to have him back'

Jim McGuinness says the return of Michael Murphy to the Donegal senior panel can bring huge benefits both on and off the pitch.

The Donegal manager admitted the group are “delighted” to welcome back Murphy - the All-Ireland winning captain from 2012 - who opted to step out of retirement to make himself available for the 2025 season after initially standing down in 2022.

“We’re delighted to have him back as it’s great obviously in terms of what he brings on the pitch but off the pitch,” McGuinness told Noel Cunningham at the Donegal Association London annual event at Hilton London Wembley.

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“Hopefully, he will be a very important part of 2025. He’s a person that I know very well and understand very well and has an incredibly high football IQ, so we’re absolutely delighted that Michael has made that decision and look forward to working with him next year.”

McGuinness used the example of Ciaran Moore, who was invited last season for pre-season trials having impressed for St Eunan’s in the Donegal SFC, as an example of the opportunity that’s there for players from the county.

“You can namecheck them all,” McGuinness said. “Ciaran Moore was up for Young Player of the Year after we kind of had to ask him to come in last year for the trial process. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to or not - that tells you about his humility. He was absolutely phenomenal for us and obviously we'll be welcoming back other players as well as Michael to the fold for 2025 and we're excited about that.

“We just want to keep trying and build now keep developing and keep growing as a group. When you're working with players you want to try and bring in new ideas every year. If the same message is there all the time people go blunt. You're bringing new ideas, looking at new things as not throwing the baby out for the bath water, wanting to build on the good stuff but also be open to ways you can improve.

“That's actually what I love about this time of year. This is for me the most enjoyable time of the year because you have a chance to reflect and think about where we're at and what might work moving into the future whereas when the season starts, it's chaotic and you're chasing your tail most of the time.”