Donegal manager Jim McGuinness is grabbing the headlines this morning following his appearance at the 2012 Allianz Football League launch on Monday.
The Irish Examiner leads their sports coverage with a story on McGuinness’s refusal to rule out a return to the squad for Kevin Cassidy. Cassidy was dropped from the county’s panel for contributing to the book This Is Our Year in which he revealed the inside story of his side’s successful 2011 season.
“I wouldn’t close the door, but the bottom line is this here — our rules and our parameters were very well defined and what happened was so far over the line in relation to our group… that’s all I can say on it,” said McGuinness.
This is what the Donegal boss had to say when pressed on the issue by radio reporters.
The Irish Times leads with McGuinness’s claims that there was a ‘witch hunt’ against his side after he defended Ryan Bradley, who was awarded the RTÉ man of the match award after the Ulster Championship win over Antrim. “I think from the moment I stood up for Ryan Bradley that there was a media witch-hunt for myself personally and for the team,” McGuinness said. “Some of the things that were said about the team – they were called the Taliban at one stage – was extremely disrespectful.”
McGuinness has also warned that the county will withdraw from next year’s Dr McKenna Cup if the college teams are also involved in the traditional pre-season tournaments. McGuinness was involved in a county v college row over DCU midfielder Martin McElhinney during this season’s McKenna Cup.The Ulster Council recently relaxed the rule – allowing players to choose who they wished to play for in the pre-season competitions.But, after the Ulster champions lost all three games in the Dr McKenna Cup, McGuinness says they won’t take part in it again in its current format.
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