WHERE does the return of Jim McGuinness put Donegal in the Ulster pecking order? Possibly fifth behind Derry, Armagh, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal? Then again, Down beat the Tir Chonaill men last season...
Only time and results will tell but, potentially, the Glenties native could be the catalyst for the return of the glory days to Tir Chonaill.
During his first spell he turned his county’s senior team from alsorans into the hardest team to beat in the country. Then he made them All-Ireland champions.
Is the talent there for him to do the same again?
Derry have won back-to-back Ulster titles and Armagh pushed them all the way to penalties last season. The Orchard county will be among the frontrunners again next year but Donegal can be added to the list that also includes Tyrone and Monaghan.
Meanwhile, Down are improving and Cavan and Fermanagh will have a year of Division Two football behind them by the time the Championship starts again. By then Donegal, who are also in Division Two, will hope to be right back in the mix.
“When I heard Jim was back, I thought to myself ‘That’s great’ but then I put the Armagh hat on and I thought: ‘Is it?’” said Aaron Kernan with a smile.
“Ulster has just got a lot more competitive. You have Armagh, Derry, Tyrone and Monaghan and you could throw in Down as well. They were disappointed with how the Tailteann Cup final went but they’d have Barry O’Hagan and Caolan Mooney back from cruciate injuries next year and that will add to them as well and Conor Laverty will be in his second year.
“Jim coming back is great if you’re from Donegal and it has made Ulster that bit more competitive, even more than it was last season.”
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With four Ulster counties (Donegal, Armagh, Fermanagh and Cavan) in Division Two, there’ll be derby clashes almost every week. Donegal’s progress will be closely monitored and McGuinness will want to see his side move through the gears in the build-up to the Championship.
“Coming out of Division Two next year will be harder now,” Kernan added.
“Cork are in there and they’ll be hard-enough to come up against and then you have Kildare in there. The way Donegal were going last year I was thinking: ‘Yeah, we can take them, we’ll not be worrying about them too much’ but now… It makes the League more competitive and tougher for Armagh because they’d want to get back to Division One.
“They want to be playing against the top teams, the elite teams, week-in, week-out for the players and for the supporters. The packed houses in the Athletic Grounds last year for League games were brilliant and we probably won’t have the same thing next year in Division Two.
“You can be guaranteed that Jim is sitting looking at the teams in Division Two now and planning his objectives and he’ll be going after them. So him coming back makes the League more difficult, let alone the Ulster Championship.”
