Paddy McBrearty Makes Brutally Honest Admission About Donegal Without Jim McGuinness

Donegal stalwart Paddy McBrearty has made a frank admission about Donegal's run without Jim McGuinness after yesterday's 3-26 to 0-15 hammering of Meath in the All-Ireland semi-final.

The 20-point win means Donegal now face a date with Kerry in the All-Ireland final, their first national decider since 2014 when they succumbed to an agonising three-point loss at the hands of the same opposition.

Back in 2014, when McBrearty, Michael Murphy and Donegal dismantled Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final, a dynasty was in the making. They were hot off the back of their 2012 All-Ireland win, boasted a young and hungry team, and Jim McGuinness had an answer for every question asked of him.

Eleven years later, however, and it's only now, with the return of Jim McGuinness and 35-year-old Michael Murphy, that the county again look like a force truly capable of competing on the biggest days.

The evidence of their strength and ability was plain to see on Sunday, when after putting Meath to the sword early in the second-half, McGuinness relieved talisman Michael Murphy of his duties, only to replace him with another veteran of the game, Paddy McBrearty, who had as sizeable, if not a greater impact.

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After kicking three points from the bench, Donegal captain McBrearty fronted up to the media post-match, flanked by none other than his commander in chief, McGuinness.

While proud of the achievement, the 31-year-old made no effort to shy away from the disappointment of their barren period, frankly admitting that he and his teammates had underperformed since 2014, and hailing the impact McGuinness' return had in turning that around.

When we left here 2014, I didn't think it would be 2024 until we reached our next semi-final. We massively, massively underachieved from '14 to ’24, in our eyes.

But you know they were a barren couple of years. We were winning Ulsters, teams were tipping us to go on and win All-Irelands and we couldn’t do it on the big days.

Getting this man (McGuinness) back obviously (was key) and getting back to days like this final in two weeks is gonna be massive.

While overcoming Kerry and the Clifford brothers will be no small task for McBrearty and Donegal, they look every bit as strong, if not stronger, than they did back in 2014.

The two sides are set to meet in Croke Park in a fortnight's time, where McGuinness and his faithful will be looking to avenge that 2014 defeat.