McGuinness has no plans to become soccer coach
“I will be living in Glasgow a few nights a week as well. That means I’m away from my own home and my own children, which actually frees up time! Once you get in the door in the evening and have my dinner, I will be able to sit back and do whatever work I want to do.
“There is a lot of time there that I mightn’t have had previously so there is no impact. It is a great, great opportunity for myself and a great opportunity for Donegal because everything that is there is available to me.”
He reckons that the team, which won the All-Ireland, has still realised just 65 per cent of its potential.
“There’s an awful lot of our players that I still feel have a lot more to offer, a couple of them in particular that have maybe had injuries in the last few years but are quality players . . . the championship probably ran out too soon for them.
“I feel in the team’s development – and that’s why I went for the job for four years – we did very well in certain games and probably Cork was our best performance and we dropped off then. They’re young and learning and we’re not as fluid and as consistent maybe.”
Reminded that Donegal have won two Ulster titles as well as the All-Ireland and so, any talk of improving by another 50 per cent is bound to alarm 31 other counties, McGuinness is philosophical.
“That’s provided you can find it. That’s provided you can find it. Do you know a team that’s operating at 100 per cent? There’s 35 per cent out there, can we get 20 per cent of that in them other areas we’re looking at? Can you retain the good work you done defensively and can you retain the good work you done offensively?
“There’s no guarantee that that 65 per cent that’s there is going to be there and that’s why the whole thing is moving all the time and you just have to work unbelievably hard to try and push the thing forward all the time.”
GPA TARGET FARRELL AIMS TO DOUBLE FUNDING
The Gaelic Players Association is hoping to more than double its funding for training and welfare programmes over the next three years. This was revealed in a media briefing by GPA chief Dessie Farrell in New York yesterday.
The GPA receives €1.6 million from the GAA annually for its various projects.
Speaking before last night’s GPA Ireland-US Gaelic Heritage Awards dinner, Farrell said the GPA would love to see the GAA continue to stage matches in the city.
“In terms of helping our cause over here, that would be phenomenal . . . It creates more awareness, increases the profile.
“ We’ve a couple of ideas around that and I know the GAA are very keen to explore this avenue because the GAA over here plays a very important role as an outlet of for first-generation Irish.
“If you consider that the AFL broadcasts their games here during the season and on a weekly basis have around seven million viewers but we’re not near that and yet the number of Aussies in this country doesn’t compare to the Irish-American community.
“We firmly believe there’s a huge opportunity there.”
