'Ulster is the best competition, getting rid of it is a lazy approach' - McGuinness

Donegal manager Jim McGuinness says the continued disrespect being shown to the provincial championships has to stop. 

Speaking at Donegal GAA’s official Ulster SFC press launch last Friday evening in Convoy, the 2012 All-Ireland winning boss highlighted the issue of some playing down the importance of the Ulster championship. 

And with Donegal gearing up the most difficult of Ulster openers against reigning champions Derry, on Saturday week, the Glenties native says the negative spin has to stop. 

“I’m a bit disappointed about the overall rhetoric around the provincial championships,” the Donegal manager said.   

“The Ulster championship is the best competition, there’s no doubt about that, and yet people are trying to devalue it, run it down, and do away with it altogether. 

“Having played in it for so long as a player, it’s hard to listen to that. My take on the Ulster championship is there’s nothing wrong with it. The problem is, people aren’t backing other counties in other provinces to get the level up.”  

McGuinness acknowledges that there is an issue with the competitiveness in the Leinster and Munster championships, but states that the onus is on the GAA to develop counties in those provinces to a level where they can compete, rather than, what he feels, is a ‘lazy’ solution in doing away with the provincial system entirely.  

He believes that greater development has to be put into football at grassroots level in counties surrounding Dublin, rather than just focusing on developing football in the capital.  

“Like there isn’t an issue with competitiveness in Ulster or even in Connacht. The real issue is, why can’t other counties in Leinster and Munster be funded to a level where development can happen? That’s where the conversation should be. 

“We should be looking at why have Dublin won so many Leinster titles, not talk about doing away with the Ulster championship.  

“Why can’t we get the Munster and Leinster championships back to that level? 

“I feel it’s lazy to just say it’s not good in Leinster or Munster, so let's do away with the entire provincial championship. That doesn’t sit well.  

“Most of this comes down to money, it comes down to development on the ground, to coaches, to people in schools, the structure in secondary and third level education. 

“That all ties into the bigger picture, and if you don’t believe there’s a future for these competitions, then why throw money at it, so clearly there has to be a future in this.  

“Like, we know that somebody has to fill that void and compete with Dublin and Kerry.  

“That’s where the GAA have to come in and develop the game in counties surrounding the capital.”  

McGuinness also used the opportunity to once again highlight his difficulty with the current split-season calendar.  

"A couple of weeks will have to be found somewhere to give the provincial championships the respect that they deserve and to give the players the respect that they deserve," he explained.  

"We are one of the fortunate ones where we do get three weeks. It's a conversation that's going on across the country. I think the pendulum has swung too much in one direction. It will have to come back to the middle ground, I feel."  

Donegal has been hit by injuries to key players like Patrick McBrearty, Brendan McCole, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, and Ryan McHugh in recent weeks.  

And McGuinness says expecting players to immediately recover from one game and then be fully fit and ready to go for another, the following week, is asking too much.  

"I don't know who that serves. I don't think it serves anybody, really. It doesn't serve managers, players, or supporters. It's challenging for everybody.  

"Definitely, the pendulum does have to come back to the middle because ultimately the GAA football championship was the centrepiece of the summer and now it's not even played in the summer.  

"So, I think there will be important conversations to continue over the weeks and months."