JIM MCGUINNESS SAW his managerial reputation elevated even further at the weekend after he masterminded Donegal’s stunning win over Dublin.
McGuinness is now on the brink of landing a second All-Ireland crown in three years and his prowess with Donegal complements the work he does in a professional capacity with Celtic.
And former Donegal teammate Declan Bonner, who has also guided the county minor side to the All-Ireland final, won’t rule out the prospect of McGuinness one day becoming the main man with the Scottish soccer giants.
“They could do a lot worse. I asked him did he take his A coaching badge. I don’t think he has. I was surprised saying it was the first thing he could be getting done at this stage.
“I’d be getting them done if I was over there. He probably hasn’t the time. They take time those things. This guy Ronnie Delia came in from wherever.”
“Stranger things have happened. Jim is hard to figure out at the best of times. I was at the press conference in Letterkenny and he spoke for an hour and I said Jim you could have said that in 50 seconds.”
Bonner has heaped praise on what McGuinness has achieved.
“It’s phenomenal what he has achieved. It’s an amazing job. I felt after last year he possibly could have walked after the defeat by Mayo, himself and a number of players could have walked. There would have been no questions asked because they owe Donegal football nothing at this stage.
“The way they came back, it’s all very well winning one All-Ireland and disappearing off the scene after that but he has come back, won an Ulster title this year, like, even winning an Ulster title this year was a big thing.
“I spoke to him that night, after the Ulster final and they were hurt after last year’s defeat by Mayo and how a lot of people had completely written this team off. But they’re back.
“He has a heavy work load in terms of what he’s doing with Celtic at the minute. He’s over and back there three or four days a week. That two year period he’s been over there, he hasn’t missed one Donegal training session. He comes back for them all.
“He plans everything meticulously. At the end of the day, Jim’s the boss, he makes all the decisions, you can see that. He has a good backroom team around him but the buck stops with Jim and he’s the man in terms of the planning and the strategy.”
