Donegal captain Patrick McBrearty ‘didn’t know what to expect’ door-stepping Jim McGuinness

Patrick McBrearty admits that he and a cohort of Donegal’s most experienced players didn’t really know what to expect when they rolled up to Jim McGuinness’ front door. 

The side was at its lowest ebb in quite some time while some high-profile matters off the field also tainted the attractiveness of the job of senior football manager. 

READ NEXT: Giveaway: Win a specially commissioned Donegal Dubai/Daniel O'Donnell jersey 

McGuinness previously spoke about that evening when a group, led by McBrearty, doorstepped him at his home in Creeslough and made a desperate plea for him to return and dig them out of the mess they’d found themselves in. 

Hugh McFadden, Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Ban Gallagher were also believed to have accompanied McBrearty that evening. And McGuinness says he could see just how hurt they were. 

“Five of the players arrived in Creeslough the day after the preliminary quarter-final against Tyrone,” the 2012 All-Ireland winning boss previously explained. 

“That did pull at the heartstrings. There was a desire to change things and climb the ladder again and make things different. That emotional part was important.

“Then a few days later there was contact with the whole squad so that was a big part of it. At the end of the day, it’s your own county.”

McGuinness had given McBrearty his senior intercounty debut back in 2011 at just 17 years of age. 

And the Kilcar man - looking back on that ambitious throw of the dice - admits he didn’t really know what to expect when he rang McGuinness’ doorbell. . 

But desperate times fuel desperate measures and Donegal supporters owe McBrearty and thse same players a special dept of gratitude.

Speaking ahead of Sunday week’s All-Ireland SFC final clash with Kerry, the current Donegal skipper says he doesn’t know where Donegal would be at right now if McGuinness wasn’t at the helm.  

“We didn't really know what to expect to be honest,” he told DonegalLive. “We knew Jim was either going to welcome us with two arms or there was going to be another response. 

“When you door-step someone, if it was me, I probably would have told him to clear.

We hadn't seen each other in a long time and had a good chat about things. 

“Obviously where Donegal football was at and stuff, but he never said no basically. Which kept the thing alive.

“Obviously if he said no, that would have been fine. It wasn't just one conversation, there was a few conversations obviously and kept the pressure on.

“Thankfully he did come back, because God knows where the whole thing would be at at the minute if he didn't decide to come back”.