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].
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.
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.
“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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
“That game is long gone,” he said of last year’s All-Ireland final.
“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.”