Jim McGuinness praises Michael Murphy's impact as Donegal’s leader returns

There is a presence about Michael Murphy that statistics can never quite capture.

It is in the way he moves, the way defenders instinctively shrink when he is near. It is in the way a crowd — particularly a Donegal crowd — finds its voice the moment he steps onto the field. It is why, when he peeled off his training top in Ballybofey last Sunday, almost 13,000 voices in MacCumhaill Park rose in unison.

For Jim McGuinness, Murphy’s return is about much more than nostalgia. This was about timing and about ensuring that Donegal’s most influential footballer in a generation can be as devastating at 35 as he was at 25.

“I spoke about Michael to our own lads in the dressing room,” McGuinness said after Donegal’s 0-21 to 1-10 win over Armagh. “It’s great to have him back and great to have his presence.

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“There’s not much I can say about Michael that hasn’t been said before, but I thought he led the line really well when he went in there.”

And he did. The game was still alive when Murphy entered the fray after 44 minutes. Armagh had just clawed their way back to within two points. Ballybofey held its breath. Then came the collision. Aidan Forker met Murphy with a little too much enthusiasm and saw red for his troubles.

It felt like a turning point. Within minutes, Murphy had punished a poor kick-out with a point and quickly added another. Donegal never looked back.

But McGuinness, ever the pragmatist, was quick to remind everyone that Murphy’s return has been carefully planned and that patience will be key.

“He’s done an awful lot of work to put himself in this position because we didn’t want to put him in a position too early,” he explained.

“We wanted him to be the best he can be, so hopefully that’s the start of it now and we can see what we can do with him next weekend.”

McGuinness knows better than anyone what Murphy’s presence does for Donegal. He knows what it does for dressing rooms, for game plans, for opponents forced to rethink everything when the Glenswilly man is prowling the inside line.

But he also knows there is a bigger picture. Donegal have started the National League with three wins from three. They have six points in the bank and a shape that is becoming more defined with each passing week.