Jim McGuinness gets inside your head, that’s his real gift - Ryan Bradley

Ryan Bradley says once Jim McGuinness infiltrates that space right between both ears, he’s impossible to shake.

The Buncrana powerhouse, a 2012 All-Ireland winner under the Donegal manager’s previous watch, admits there were numerous times early on during that first reign where he felt like he’d reached maximum output.

On the verge of his own personal brink, he’d have a right moan and a groan. McGuinness would eventually interject and insist that ceilings weren’t there to be reached, they were there to be broken through. And, Bradley explains, the boss was always right.

Bradley has been based in Doha, Qatar, for over a decade now with wife Clare and, in that time, they’ve also welcomed two small children, Finlay and Alfie.

But there are quiet moments, time spent with himself, when Bradley looks back and still wonders at it all. And he just doesn’t think about the successes McGuinness led Donegal to. No, the obvious stuff is well down that list at this stage.

Stubborn, by his own admission, he still marvels at just how McGuinness managed to convince the most disillusioned and indeed, disoriented group, that they were good enough.

“I needed people to push me - I was never a great person to go away, train on their own or whatever, he tells DonegalLive.

“2011 and 2012, it was tough. I remember getting to the end of so many runs and thinking, there’s no way he’s going to make us do another. But he always did.

“But Jim would say you’ll get to a threshold and when you break through that one you’ll know. And he was right. In terms of fitness, there was always another level to get to. And when you did it felt amazing.

“It was such a shock to the system at the time but it was what that group needed. Now, it’s probably not the same thing because conditioning in the GAA starts at such an early level. Every young player you see now is bursting out of their jersey.

“There isn’t a player out of shape the entire year round. You’re talking about athletes and to play intercounty football now you have to tick certain boxes long before you even pick up a football.

“I was working construction at the time. Between, work, training and gym sessions it was such a slog. At that time, myself, Neil McGee, Adrian Hanlon and Brick Molloy were at it, working construction. But you pushed through it.

“And it was never going to be a long-term thing for me so I was prepared to do it. But to be able to look back and have reward for it, the medals and the friendships I mean, I’m really thankful.

“But there were nights where you were in the worst of humour. And I wasn’t great at hiding it! But Jim, he’d be telling you how it was going to go, where we were going to end up.

“And you began to believe it, you bought into it. It’s that journey and destination thing, there really are so many amazing memories besides the obvious ones. So I know this group are hopefully in the same place”.

Bradley continues to keep a close eye on Donegal’s fortunes and since McGuinness’ reemergence, he’s especially keen to see how the Inishowen contingent of Caolan McGonagle, Caolan McColgan and Conor O’Donnell are faring.

The latter pair are still working their way back from injury but Bradley says McGonagle is central to how McGuinness is trying to progress things.

“It’s great to be watching Donegal seeing Inishowen lads involved in all of that. When Caolan and Conor come back in they’re more than good enough to be right in contention.

“I’m sure it’s frustrating for them right now but they’ll be back sooner rather than later, hopefully. But for the youngsters in the clubs at home, to have lads there, it will only help football in the area long-term”.

You could say McGonagle is a chip off the old Buncrana block. Because for Bradley, the shortest distance between two points was always a straight line.

“Caolan’s running on and off the ball is superb. He’s been outstanding. He’s powerfully built and Jim is no doubt looking to harness all of that from a deep position.

“And just Jim coming in, that little bit of extra guidance and trust, that gives you even more confidence.

“Caolan is at number six but can come into that middle block of four then if Donegal press up on the opposition. With the likes of Michael Langan, Jason McGee, Ciaran Thompson, Hughie McFadden or whoever, that’s big men right across the middle.

“And Jim again, that’s typical of him, he’s looking for something a little different. You don’t usually see big men at centre-half-back in modern football. We’d Karl Lacey - once of the silkiest and best footballers to ever play the game.

“But like I said, Caolan is big and strong but he’s seriously athletic and that’s a brilliant combination, something different.

“And in that counter or transition, as it’s now being called, it’s a great starting point to break that first line of contact. And he’s got two great feet for kicking. He’ll contribute on the scoreboard.

“And listen, punching holes, that’s what Donegal are getting back to. This thing of avoiding contact, I hate to see that. We had complete licence to do that under Jim once we turned over the ball”.

Criticism of Donegal’s style of play back then, and even criticism of that criticism, goes way back to almost the very start. Bradley was awarded Man of the Match against Antrim in McGuinness’ first championship outing in 2011.

Besides the result, it was a forgettable afternoon but Pat Spillane, on the Sunday Game after would dismissively say: “In mediocrity, the best of a very poor bunch was Ryan Bradley.”

Donegal had an enormous bank of work under their belts but in their own fragile minds, they still lacked the confidence, the traction needed to go out and completely blow Antrim away. But Donegal had won an Ulster SFC match for the first time in four seasons.

Belief and momentum would slowly grow and a first provincial crown in close to two decades was landed.

Still - Donegal and 2011 will forever be entangled with that Dublin encounter at the penultimate juncture in the battle for Sam Maguire. And that still grates at Bradley.

“It does still annoy me to see certain people label us, that group, as defensive. And you’ll see people blame, what we’ve probably seen at county level for the last decade, on that Donegal.

“It’s pure nonsense. Okay, 2011 you can tag us with that but only because we were still getting ourselves together.

“But in 2012, when we won the ball in defence there were no shackles. Every single man was allowed to go. And the scores we put up in championship games reflected that.

“Donegal’s counter-attacking approach didn't make football bad. It was bad teams trying to play defensive football, with no end product, that did that.

“And we never went sideways, that’s something that I just didn’t get in recent times. We were told to break lines, the likes of myself, Leo McLoone or whoever was coming through, off the shoulder, and with a head of steam built up.

“There is still real reward for that approach in modern football”.

Bradley works for a de-watering company in the middle of the desert that pumps and extracts water from the ground during excavations.

Speaking on what he labelled a “beautiful Saturday morning”, beside the swimming pool, he explains that the family’s Middle Eastern adventure is finally coming to an end inside the next few months and a return home is on the cards.

Former Donegal teammate Paul Durcan also called Doha home for a while and the two still talk regularly.

Durcan is currently part of the Sligo senior football backroom team and the ex-Donegal stopper had some really good things to say about Colm McFadden’s involvement with the Yeats County as a forwards coach.

“Speaking to Paul, he was really impressed with Colm when he was in there. He said he was a brilliant forwards coach. His way of explaining and just giving small snippets was hugely beneficial.

“And Neil McGee, he’s only out of that scene in terms of being a player. But even if he was thinking of getting involved further down the line, the opportunity to work under Jim would just have been too good to turn down.

“So the three of them, that’s a really good fit. And it’s hard to say no to Jim. One of his best qualities is his persuasiveness!

“Donegal have always produced good footballers. But you need the right people to harness that. It’s easy to say now but look back at the 2012 side. It was an amazing group of players.

“And I like what I see in Donegal right now as well. And Jim, Colm and Neil will get the best out of them - there is no question of that”.