This weekend, the 16 teams that will compete for this year's Sam Maguire Cup will be known, and while it might be too early to predict the outright winner, one former Donegal player has tipped his home county for glory.
The excitement returned to the Hills earlier this year with news of Jim McGuinness' return to inter-county management.
McGuinness led Donegal to All-Ireland glory in 2012, but after losing the 2014 final to Kerry, the Glenties native stepped away from GAA.
Since his return to Donegal, the side claimed the Allianz National League division 2 title after beating Armagh, and last week, they shocked reigning Ulster champions Derry in the quarterfinal of the provincial championship.
McGuinness' side cruised past Mickey Harte's Derry by a scoreline of 4-11 to 0-17, and it's safe to say the result and performance has raised expectations in Donegal.
Donal Reid believes Donegal can go all the way
Former Donegal player Donal Reid was part of the side who won the All-Ireland in 1992 and was also on Jim McGuinness' backroom staff as a physiotherapist in 2012.
After the heroics of last weekend's win at Celtic Park, Reid is backing McGuinness to lead the side back to the pinacle of Gaelic Football.
23 September 2012; Donal Reid, Donegal team physiotherapist, lifts the Sam Maguire Cup. GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final, Donegal v Mayo, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
Speaking to Donegal Live, he spoke about Donegal's chances at claiming a third All-Ireland title.
I can’t see Donegal being beaten at all this season unless Dublin offers something special. We talk about Kerry, Tyrone, Mayo, all these teams, but Donegal in my opinion are better than them. I feel this team can go the whole way.
Like, we can’t deny that there’s a Jim McGuinness factor, and these players will only get better with time, but they have nothing to fear when facing any team.
Reid highlighted Jim's man management as a key ingredient to his success.
Jim gets the most out of players, even beyond what they believe themselves what they are capable of, he’ll get the best out of them every single time.
I don’t think he’s changed his system since he’s returned to the game, his tactic was always a quick transition from defence into the forward line at speed. It’s his personality, he just makes everyone feel 10 feet taller, when he talks people listen, he’s an incredible human being.
I’ve been involved in GAA all my life, but when I joined Jim’s team in 2012, I couldn’t believe the type of person I was working with, he really opened my eyes, he looked at the game like nobody else.
Perhaps Reid's comments might be somewhat premature, but it certainly shows the belief that McGuinness has brought back to Donegal.
This weekend, they can take another step closer to their first Ulster SFC title since 2019. A win over Tyrone on Sunday will set up a final date against either Armagh or Down.
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