'Orchard challenge much different to anything we've faced so far' - Jim McGuinness

It’s over 21 years ago now that the national public first caught a glance of the manager trait bubbling inside of Jim McGuinness.   

Ironically it was against the very team that McGuinness’s side will face this week in an Ulster final when Donegal clash with Armagh in Clones.    

In the backdrop of the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final, Donegal’s Raymond Sweeney found himself in a despondent state after receiving his second yellow card and subsequent dismissal.    

As he stood in the Hogan Stand tunnel, overcome with disappointment, McGuinness, who was a substitute that day, stepped forward to offer him solace with words of encouragement. It was the first sign to a national audience that there was a born leader somewhere in the mind of the Glenties man.  

Despite Sweeney's exit, Donegal maintained a commendable lead of 1-5 to 0-4 early in the second half. And while being a player down, they valiantly clung to a three-point advantage until Armagh's predictable late surge.    

This pattern had become somewhat of a norm, with Armagh consistently prevailing over Donegal. Whether it was at Croke Park, where they clashed in multiple championship encounters over four years, or in Clones, where tensions often ran high, the Orchard County always seemed to have the upper hand.   

There were sliding door moments for Donegal along the way, all of which seem to have involved Armagh.  

The misery in Crossmaglen was no doubt the turning point when John Joe Doherty’s side were hammered in the All-Ireland series. It was perhaps the moment that sealed McGuinness’s fate and brought him out of the wilderness into a job he so desperately wanted, having applied for the role as manager on two previous occasions.  

There was also the day of the ‘Flying Doctor’ when Donegal’s medic Dr Kevin Moran was unfortunately caught in the firing line of a melee during a Donegal and Armagh All-Ireland quarter-final.  

Patrick McBrearty would slot over that winning point in what was a difficult grind for Donegal as they stumbled into that famous All-Ireland semi-final encounter with Dublin.  

McGuinness' team delivered one of their greatest performances ever to progress to a final meeting with Kerry.  

But in another one of those grind-type encounters the Kingdom won out as Donegal players and supporters were left to wonder about what might have been. 

But McGuinness is not a man for ‘what ifs?’, even with Sunday’s Ulster final, it’s always looking to the road in front of you.   

“This match on Sunday is going to be a very different game to the Tyrone or Derry game,” the 2012 All-Ireland winner said.   

“Every game is different in its own right and it’s going to carry its own unique set of circumstances.  

“We play differently every single day and look at the different personnel every day and where the threats are, all that is constantly changing, and we have to be very fearful of that, or take advantage of that.  

“We’re never going to be the same every day, I think if you did that, you’d be a sitting duck, we always look to change and manipulate our team on what’s ahead of us.” 

With McGuinness’ return to the hotseat last year, there was almost a feeling of going back to the future. There was a tone set and like before McGuiness was going to do it his way.   

Teams and personnel may change every week, but the mantra and philosophy from the Naomh Conaill man to win at all costs and follow to the beat of his guiding drum remains very much intact.   

Even as early as his first championship game in charge against Antrim in 2011, McGuinness made it clear that under his command, the county he represented for so long as a player would not be the focus of anyone’s ridicule anymore.   

That was so clearly felt that miserable afternoon in Ballybofey when it was suggested that even Ryan Bradley’s Man of the Match award was dubious due to the quality of what was a poor game.    

But from the Donegal manager’s point of view, a line had been crossed!   

No apology was made for the performance or spectacle with McGuinness venting his anger the following championship game against Cavan.    

The tone of his era was very much set. Something was different in the air.   

“I think Donegal at the minute with the media is a thing you can poke fun at. You can eulogise Kerry and talk about Dublin, but Donegal, you can just poke fun at them, we’re not like that,” the Donegal manager said back in 2011. 

And now a return to the hotseat 10 years later, and one year after what was an unexpectedly disappointing season, McGuinness looks to be bringing the good times back to his native county. 

Never dull! Still making opposition teams think longer and harder about strategies that get the best out of his players. 

And with the wheel turning full circle again, McGuinness is now setting out to win his fourth Ulster title in his fifth year in charge as they look to overcome the team that brought the county such dismay in the past.   

“I spent my whole life trying to win an Ulster championship, I was fortunate to do it in my first year as a player, but I never won another one, so I understand the gravity of this game and what it means for everybody, the management, the players, and the people of Donegal,” said the 2012 All-Ireland winning boss.   

“We’re very fortunate that we were able to navigate our way past Derry and Tyrone and to be in a position now where we are in an Ulster final. We have to enjoy that, we have to relish that and prepare for that, and whenever that competition is over, the next competition will begin, but for now, all our focus is on this huge game.   

Alongside Tyrone, Joe Kernan’s Armagh were the dominant team in Ulster in the 2000s, capturing three Anglo Celt titles in-a-row, but under the stewardship of current manager Kieran McGeeney they still look for that first Ulster crown with the former Armagh captain now in his tenth season in charge and the county without an Ulster title since 2007.   

“We know there’s pressure, but there’s pressure on every game. It’s inter-county football, everybody wants to progress, nobody wants to get beaten, and everyone is putting their life on hold,” said the Donegal boss.   

“Our job from a management point of view is to try to take away that pressure and boil it down to a couple of simple things, like, why are you here and what are you doing it for?    

“We as Donegal have been in a lot of finals over the last number of years but it’s been a while since we’ve won one, so we want to do that, but we know Armagh have been building that squad the last number of years and they will feel that they’re ready to do that now.   

“The occasion is going to be huge. It’s the biggest day in Ulster football and the biggest competition out of the four provinces . . . we’re really looking forward to it.”   

And in terms of readying his team for Sunday’s showdown with Armagh?  

“I don’t think you’re really ever ready until you have the cup,” he said. “There’s always that element that everything can go south but that’s what makes it exciting when you’re building a team, it fills you with apprehension.   

“We’re still not fully there yet but in the difficult games this season, everything we’ve asked of the players has been brilliant and hopefully that will happen on Sunday.”  

McGuinness made everybody believe it was possible to do it in the past, and he is back to prove that point again.