“Everyone in Donegal is looking forward to seeing it” – Coleman on McGuinness return
Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman says he is looking forward to Jim McGuinness’s return to the helm with Donegal senior footballers.
It was confirmed on Monday night that McGuinness would be returning for a second stint with the Tir Chonaill men, having led the county to its second ever Sam Maguire Cup success nine years ago.
Speaking at the launch of SPAR’s Better Choices Back to School campaign yesterday, Everton star Coleman, who is a native of Killybegs, said he’ll be interested to see the approach McGuinness takes with the team after the latter stint in soccer coaching.
“Everyone in Donegal is looking forward to seeing it, with what he has done for Donegal before,” said the 34-year-old.
“He took over a group that was really struggling at the time, he completely changed the mindset of the group, the team morale, and fitness. It was great for us for a few years in Donegal.
“It will be interesting for me to watch to see if he has picked up or learned anything from doing his pro licence and things like that. Does he try and change anything? Is it two different games completely?
“It’ll be interesting to see his approach when he takes over, but we’re all looking forward to it…
“They’ve had a tough couple of years. You would be expecting miracles from him to come in and make them contenders straight away. He did that very quickly the first time around.
“I’ve met him a few times, he’s got something about him, something different about him in my opinion. I wouldn’t write them off in terms of challenging straight away.
“He gets into the mindset of the players and whatever he does, he motivates players beyond whatever they think they can get to themselves.”