Whys have it as Jim McGuinness tries to figure out All-Ireland final defeat

Champions win and lose the same. Jim McGuinness doesn't come to the press conference alone. He is joined by Mark Anthony. After Donegal won the All-Ireland in 2012, McGuinness and his young son went back onto the field to kick a ball about.

Donegal were not themselves yesterday and the sports psychologist for Celtic FC doesn't have answers yet.

“We looked tired. We looked a wee bit lethargic and we just didn’t spark into our normal rhythm.

“Why that is, I don’t know. Genuinely I don’t know. It’s a big occasion. Maybe that’s one of the reasons. It’s too early for me to say. I have to look at it and think about what we did in the lead-in to the game. I can’t put my finger on it at the moment.

“Maybe we wanted it to be 9pm and be out in Citywest with the cup, but the game is played at 3.30pm. You got to deliver your performance at 3.30pm.

“It’s very unusual for us. Normally we deliver a high-octane performance. We didn’t get that today.”

Revolution

McGuinness refused to be drawn on his future but

Christy Toye

had no problem insisting the revolution starts and finishes with the manager.

“Jim McGuinness has revolutionised Donegal football,” said Toye. “If you could keep Jim for the rest of his career you would, you know?

“Suppose Jim is the man to ask about that.”

We did. Twice.

Nor would he blame Papa Durcan's gift of a goal to Kieran Donaghy.

“The first goal was a hammer blow but I thought we reacted to it really well,” said McGuinness.

“We still weren’t playing the way we know we can. The second goal was another hammer blow but again I thought we reacted to it well.

“You have to ask the question: why weren’t we able to do that in open play in normal time? Go at the opposition. Why did it have to be in reaction to conceding a goal?

“I personally think if we were fully at ourselves, sharp and aggressive on the counterattack, the way we practiced before the game, seeing that man inside with a dink ball or a runner of it, I think we could have been very competitive throughout the game.”

The lament went on: “We are disappointed we didn’t deliver to the level we are capable of. We wanted to have no regrets. Empty it out onto the pitch and then whatever the result was we can live with it.

“Now, we have to live with the fact we didn’t get anyway close to our performance level. We were within a whisker of sneaking a draw at the end and maybe if we got a draw the performance and the intensity could have been there the next day.

“For me, that’s not something I will dwell on. The game was at 3.30pm today. That’s when we had to deliver and that wasn’t the case.”

Very few positives

What happened, Jim? “Our preparations had gone really well. There are very few positives. This is the All-Ireland, the biggest sporting occasion in the country, and you got to be able to take that opportunity and really, really go for it.

“We were far too conservative. Far too conservative.”

No spark, not today.

“We have won an All-Ireland. We know what it takes to win an All-Ireland. It takes a team being very intensive, very focused and very positive and continually driving through the 70 minutes. There were too many minutes in that game that were so conservative.”

He is talking an hour after a crushing defeat. Rawness permeates.

Journey might be over

Several retirements will probably follow over the winter. McGuinness may focus purely on his work with Celtic. This journey might be over.

“I will go away and take my time and think about this. I done that last year and I done it the year before. I will think of my own position. I will think about the players and the squad that we have.

“Do we want to move forward? Motivation? All these things come into it.

“Family.”

Mark Anthony is smiling. Sitting beside his hero.

"We'll just stay close and work through it . . . Kerry deserve to be All-Ireland champions.

“Move on.”