1. The Donegal boss was nervous going into the Tyrone game
Image: INPHO/Presseye/Russell Pritchard
“He was very nervous going into the Tyrone game because of the rivalry between the two teams and he felt that, if they won the game, it would give them a huge psychological edge going into rest of the campaign.
“I spoke to him briefly there on Monday and he was delighted with the result.”
2. He has a key role with the Celtic youth team
Image: INPHO/Cathal Noonan
“He works with the younger and development players, a lot of whom get lost between the U19s and the first team and that’s a worry for us.”
3. So what exactly does he do with the youth players?
Image: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
“What Jim does is build a psychological profile, work on the psychology. A lot of the kids are immature and I think it’s innovative what he does, it’s ground-breaking for us and I believe we’ll see the benefits of it.”
4. There’s no truth in the rumour he only became aware of McGuinness after watching the All-Ireland Final
Image: INPHO/James Crombie
“No, no. I knew about Jim long before that.
“I’d be liaising with Mr. Desmond and Jim and having spoken to Mr. Desmond and watched what Jim did – in terms of changing the way Donegal played from being defensive to making them more open – I knew he was tactically astute.”
5. Finally, Lennon also thinks Joe Kernan transformed Ulster football as much as McGuinness
Image: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
“Joe Kernan did what Jim’s doing now, he transformed the game in Armagh.
“Players became more physical and more athletic but with great skill involved in the team too.”
Neil Lennon was speaking to Paul Collins on Championship Sunday on Today FM.
