Jim and Donegal will be targeting Derry's scalp this time out - Peter Canavan 

Peter Canavan believes Jim McGuinness will be circling Derry’s name firmly on his whiteboard on the very first occasion he meets up with his Donegal players.

The 2012 All-Ireland boss famously pinpointed knocking Tyrone off their perch back in 2010, first time around, as he looked to break their stranglehold on Ulster. 

The Oakleafers are chasing a hattrick of provincial wins in 2024 and Canavan reckons that will be the initial target for Donegal - a first provincial crown since 2019. 

The Tyrone legend has got to know McGuinness well during their time together as GAA analysts on Sky Sports. And Canavan believes Donegal’s blockbuster appointment will have registered not just inside Ulster but well outside it as well. 

“I don’t know if he ever really left it,” said Canavan when pressed on McGuinness’ return to the GAA fold.  “I know he was very keen on pursuing soccer but he’d always have a hand in somewhere - be it at intercounty and club level. He’s a very astute character. 

“He’s not going back in to manage Donegal for the sake of it. It's certainly the tonic Donegal  required. And knowing Jim, it’ll be all hands on deck from this point on regarding playing personnel.

“It’s stating the obvious but Ulster is by far the most competitive province. Monaghan, look at the standard they played to this year. Down are very much a county on the rise once more. 

“Armagh and Derry contested a brilliant Ulster final. And Donegal never really left the mix. With Jim on board, they are very much back in the frame”.

Canavan says everyone is watching and wondering if the mercurial Glenties man can now influence Michael Murphy to make a dramatic u-turn on his intercounty retirement. Because he is in no doubt the Glenswily talisman still packs a punch like no other at that level.

“It’ll be interesting to see if Michael Murphy rejoins. In 2005, after that All-Ireland final, I was 35 finishing up. 

“But the big difference between myself and Michael was that I had to run to get the ball. He can stand in there and is still more than capable of winning ball up against anyone. I really mean that. 

“It’s a no-brainer for Jim to ask but that’s a decision Michael will have to make. But if Jim McGuinness can’t persuade him no one else will.”  

Sitting side by side with McGuinness at so many huge games over the last few years, Canavan says he’s a cerebral thinker that will relish the chance to once again disrupt football’s tactical landscape. 

“He’s going to look at what’s happening now, at the very top. He’ll also have to take a really good look at his options and the type of game he’ll play will depend on the players available to him. 

“I don’t think there is anyone better out there to come up with a gameplan to suit the hand he’s been dealt. Initially, when he first came in, he’d his target very much set on Tyrone. This time out, it’ll be Derry. 

“They are going for ‘three-in-a-row’. I feel they are a step or two ahead of the others in Ulster right now. I think it’s brilliant for the championship on the whole. Jim is a charismatic figure and it’s really exciting. 

“From a Tyrone point of view, I wish he’d stayed where he was but on the whole, it’s a brilliant development”.