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Outside opinions mean little to Donegal manager Jim McGuinness and his single-minded approach will continue into Sunday’s All-Ireland final rematch against Kerry in Ballyshannon [13:30 GMT].<\/b><\/p>\n
The Kingdom romped to a 39th Sam Maguire success last summer, defeating Donegal 1-26 to 0-19 in the final as Jack O’Connor’s side exploded into life on their run to the title.<\/p>\n
Some queried Donegal’s zonal approach in that game but McGuinness insists “we’ll decide what’s right and won’t be listening to anybody else” in terms of his team’s tactical approach.<\/p>\n
“There’s loads of opinions out there and loads of people saying loads of things but that doesn’t have any impact on my thinking whatsoever – I don’t listen to those people,” he said following Saturday’s opening win over Dublin.<\/p>\n
“Most of them have never coached at inter-county level, most have never stood on a sideline, most have never won anything as a coach. I only take counsel from people who have been there and done that.”<\/p>\n
Sunday’s Division One game may not have the same high stakes, but for McGuinness, this will be another step along the road to where they want to be in 2026.<\/p>\n
Donegal opened their campaign with a 1-20 to 0-20 win over the Dubs in Croke Park, while Kerry left it late against Roscommon in Killarney as Tomas Kennedy’s buzzer-beater snatched victory.<\/p>\n
Naturally, there will be a keen interest on how this weekend’s game pans out and whether there will be tweaks in approach, but it is anything but a revenge mission for the Ulster champions according to their coach whose focus is on developing his squad for this year’s championship.<\/p>\n
“That game is long gone,” he said of last year’s All-Ireland final.<\/p>\n
“We’re heading for 2026 now and focusing on that. There’s no residue there, we’re back on the horse, won our first game and will see what happens next weekend.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n