Armagh have played a part in Jim McGuinness' journey, both as a player and a boss

Donegal - in a warped kind of way - owe Armagh a deep depth of gratitude.

June 26, 2010 and Jim McGuinness is standing on the terraces, in Crossmaglen, as the Orchard men mercilessly crush Donegal. In the end, the scoreboard is kind as it reads 2-14 to 0-11.

But everyone present knows that this is rock bottom. John Joe Doherty, the legendary 1992 All-Ireland winner, steps away while a number of playing obituaries are also written in the immediate aftermath.

Last year’s well documented low prompted McGuinness to once again step up to the managerial plate but he admits that Crossmaglen, that day, was his original ‘Ground Zero’.

Back then, the Glenties man had already been turned down twice for the top gig but, for some reason, instinct overrode pride and, when the role became available again, he put his hand up.

The difference this time though was that his was the only application and so - off the back of a memorable U-21 journey - McGuinness took on a role many had labelled impossible.

Anthony Molloy, at the time, had even went as far to say, “God Almighty would not have success with this current Donegal team”.

But, for some reason, and a little like late 2023, McGuinness just didn’t see it that way.

“That game was an important point in my own decision-making,” he explained. “Watching that match, I was hungry to get involved. I still seen something in that group and I believed in them. And it’s full circle now”.

McGuinness’ motivation to topple Tyrone took precedence above all else but McGuinness says Armagh left a different kind of scar at the tail end of his own playing career.

Joe Kernan’s outfit set the original bar when it came to a number of innovational shifts in Gaelic football on their way to making the ultimate breakthrough in 2002.

“Deep down, you knew they were ticking more boxes than us,” McGuinness recalls. "They were bigger than us and they were stronger than us. They clearly had all that nailed down in terms of strength and conditioning. From a footballing point of view, we always had great faith in ourselves.

“But tactically back then, they were also ahead of the curve. So they set a really high bar across the board. We’d have a plan and it would be very clear in the first 20 minutes of big games.

“The next 20 minutes not so much and, in the last 20 minutes, it had completely disintegrated.

“The reason for that was because it was something created over the course of a week or two whereas Armagh and Tyrone, in that period, were working on that from the first day of the season.

“And in big games, in difficult moments, they were anchors for them. They continued to believe in that direction”.

At the fulcrum of all of that for Armagh was Kieran McGeeney. Armagh’s All-Ireland winning captain has toiled for a decade now as Orchard boss looking to break a provincial glass ceiling that’s exists since 2008.

McGuinness and McGeeney seem to enjoy a ‘what happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch’ kind of relationship.

They’re cordial and very friendly before and after the whistle but, in the white heat of battle, there is a palpable edge to exchanges.

But the Donegal manager still sees McGeeney as one of the most driven characters in GAA.

“This Armagh side are one of the biggest and most physical teams in the country. And maybe that’s down to the manager. He was one of the most physical and fit players in the game at the time.

“He’s achieved massive amounts in the game. And that comes from a serious personal drive. And that doesn’t disappear and go out a door. He’s bringing that standard to the table every single night with those lads.

“He also has created a seriously high-profile and diverse backroom team that adds value to all of that. It all adds up. And so we are under no illusions about what’s in store on Sunday”.