Fifth year? Jim McGuinness
THE man who guided Jim McGuinness into county management has said he believes the Glenties coach will stay for another year at the helm of Donegal football.
All-Ireland winning manager Brian McEniff, who took the county to the Sam Maguire for the first time in 1992, says he believes ‘in his bones’ that McGuinness will return for a fifth year at the helm of the county team.
McGuinness, the county’s most successful manager with an All-Ireland and three Ulster titles in four years, has been offered a promoted role with Celtic.
But he said before this year’s All-Ireland he had no problem fitting his role in Glasgow with the voluntary position he has with Donegal.
The father of five said being able to fly to Glasgow from Carrickfin was a huge bonus.
He has said he still wants a few weeks to consider his future.
But McEniff said: “I feel confident he might stay on with Donegal.
“I feel it in my bones. There is unfinished business there. If we had won the All-Ireland I think it would have been harder for him not to go. He built a team that came up just short in the All-Ireland final, that peaked against Dublin. But we are still a good side. We never became a bad side.”
McEniff told the Irish Times today: “People in this county love him and that’s a great motivating factor.
“I would like Jim to stay but I appreciate he has a commitment there at Celtic Park. They are paying his salary, which is important as in the GAA he won’t be getting a lot of money. It is the love of his county that keeps him motivated but I don’t know if he can sustain it with five small children under the age of eight. It’s a big decision so he needs time out to make it. We are all hoping, keeping our fingers crossed that he will stay on.
“Jim will do whatever he needs to do. If he does stay he will make demands of all the players that he believes are necessary for them to succeed.”
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