Jim McGuinness And The Secrets Of Successful Management

Jim McGuinness came into studio to talk about his new book and to look back on his years in charge of Donegal football team. The book deal with more than football, however. He deals honestly and movingly with the deaths of his brothers Charles and Mark in 1984 and 1998 and how each left an indelible mark on him are a feature of the book. Other interesting passages are those about the people who he perceived did him wrong –Kevin Cassidy, Donegal county board etc. He also talks about his differences with former assistant manager Rory Gallagher, who McGuinness reveals he hasn’t spoken to since telling him that he would not be part of his management team in 2014. McGuinness still doesn’t seem to have forgiven Gallagher for doing an interview prior to the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-final when he made the claim that Mayo and Monaghan were colluding against Donegal. The majority of McGuinness’s anger is directed at the county board who he felt sabotaged Donegal’s 2013 season when they chose to go ahead with club championship fixtures during the summer. Because of injuries picked up in club matches, McGuinness felt he had one hand tied behind his back: “To my mind, there were people on the county board who wanted me to fail, and if that meant that the Donegal team failed in the process, so be it.” He talks about changing their summer game-plan when their league games were being televised. When Michael Murphy’s injury prior to the 2011 All-Ireland quarter-final against Kildare was leaked, he believed it had come from inside the camp and encouraged players to sacrifice their phones.