McBrearty: 'We've massively underachieved since 2014'

Paddy McBrearty: 'We've massively underachieved since '14... Jim has raised standards'

Paddy McBrearty: 'When Jim came back, standards were raised back to where they were'

for the first time since 2014, the final year of Jim McGuinness's unforgettable and transformative first reign in charge.

Paddy McBrearty is one of the veterans of that campaign, alongside Ryan McHugh and the returning Michael Murphy. He readily admits he didn't ever think it would take over a decade to get back to the showpiece game.

In the wake of their chaotic annus horribilis of 2023, McBrearty was one of the prominent players beating a path to McGuinness's front door in an attempt to convince him to return to the manager's post.

Two years later, Donegal have won back-to-back Ulster titles and have reached a decider in the second year of his second coming, a sequence which follows a near identical path to his first stint.

Donegal did win two Ulster titles during the long decade between McGuinness's two terms but failed badly beyond that, with none of those campaigns even yielding a semi-final appearance.

"When we left here 2014, I didn't think it would be 2024 until we reached our next semi-final," McBrearty admits, seated alongside his manager in Sunday's post-match press conference.

"We massively, massively underachieved from '14 to ’24, in our eyes.

"When Jim came back, standards were raised back to where they were and we’re just delighted to be back here.

"But you know they were a barren couple of years. We were winning Ulsters, teams were tipping us to go on and win All-Irelands and we couldn’t do it on the big days.

"Getting this man (McGuinness) back obviously (was key) and getting back to days like this final in two weeks is gonna be massive."

Twelve months ago, his manager had cut a frustrated figure after their semi-final loss to Galway, after a game in which Donegal faded in the final quarter.

Reflecting on the year since, McGuinness stressed the importance of adding depth to their squad, with 2012 captain and erstwhile FRC rule-maker Michael Murphy obviously the most high-profile and surprising addition.

"The number one thing on the list there would be depth," says McGuinness.

"We didn't know at that stage the rule changes that were coming down the line and the physical demands of the rule changes, but certainly, we new that we needed people to come in and give us more depth and strengthen.

"(Odhrán) McFadden-Ferry came into the team in the second half, Eoin McHugh has come back in, Michael (Murphy) has come back in and Eoin McGettigan.

"We knew we had to be stronger and build the energy within the group."

While the rule changes have seen the game enter a new era, Donegal's gameplan has had a familar feel, being heavily based around hard running and rapid hand-passing.

Notably, they showed little interest in scoring two-pointers with the breeze in the second half - a marked contrast to Meath in the opening half - though this was partly conditioned by their healthy lead at that stage.

McGuinness, a believer in the importance of embracing his county's footballing DNA, has stuck firm to their principles amid all the changes.

The game's second goal, which began with Finbarr Roarty turning over the ball and ended with Ciaran Moore firing home after a sweeping handpassing move, typified the way they want to play.

"There's a good bit of commentary, I suppose, about how we play sometimes.

"And maybe it is a wee bit different than other teams. But that's who we are at this stage of the game, you know.

"We know what we want to do and it's been in our blood for a long, long time and we just try to tap into that.

"I think it was Finnbarr that turned that one over. A brilliant turnover and and we we got we got all the way up the pitch and made it count."

In McGuinness's estimation, the two teams who meet in the All-Ireland final are sides who haven't over-reacted to the new rules.

"Listen, the game has changed dramatically over the last number of months," says McGuinness. "We just felt that it was important to see how those changes would grow, if you like, and then bring our own template to how we want to play the game to that.

"And it's served us well. I think Kerry have done the exact same thing.

"I think there was a lot of commentary maybe throughout the league that ourselves and Kerry were the only two teams that weren't embracing the twos (two-pointers).

"I don't think Kerry have done a huge amount differently, you know. They have their own way of playing as well.

"They play with their head up, they're looking for dink balls, they're looking for third-man runners, they're looking to support.

"In the same way we support off the shoulder, they're looking to do it the exact same way only with a kick-pass beforehand or whatever.

"Everybody's got their own principles and how they see the game. For me, it's important just to keep what it is to be from your county very close to the centre, and then move with the rules, and I think we've done quite a good job on that front."

McGuinness's first stint in charge concluded with Donegal's first ever All-Ireland final defeat - in three appearances - after they were out-manouvered by Eamonn Fitzmaurice's Kerry in a drab enough decider.

The Munster champions had been written off in the middle of that campaign, as they famously were earlier this year. Though they've dramatically recovered their form in Croke Park, with comfortable wins over Aramgh and Tyrone.

"You all watching it no more than ourselves like," McGuinness says of yesterday's semi-final. "They've just a lot of quality, they have a lot of a lot of skill level, they're playing for each other.

"You can see that they're very united and they're very together. I thought their interviews were very balanced and very controlled and they're on a bit of a mission themselves.

"They're so confident about what they do. And there's a rite of passage there almost in terms of winning All-Irelands, so that's the first thing we're going to have to meet head on.

"Listen, it's, it's great for us, it's a great challenge, we're looking forward to it."