Despite people thinking that Donegal didn’t want to be in the league final, they secured a 1-22 to 1-19 win over Derry in the pre-event before the two sides met in the Ulster championship in April.
A Shane O’Donnell goal, set up by Michael Murphy, was the catalyst for Jim McGuiness's men as they came from eight points down, scoring 1-7 without reply to overcome their neighbours in Ballyshannon.
However, speaking to RTÉ after the game, McGuinness described the closeness of the National Football League Division 1 final and Donegal's Ulster SFC opener against Derry as "not ideal".
The Donegal boss also questioned whether teams wanted to make the league final or not, and suggested that Donegal would be facing a similar decision in weeks to come.
"The league final and the first round of the Ulster championship the week after is not ideal for us," he said on RTÉ's Sunday Sport.
There's a number of teams that want to stay in the division, but they don't want maybe to play in a league final and put themselves under pressure. It might be different for a few teams that have an easier passage in their provinces that maybe suits them.
I don't know if that's the way the competition should be set up. I don't think it's fair on the sponsors in particular. I think you should have a competition that everybody wants to be in and everybody wants to win. So even the fact that you're asking me this question obviously means that that conversation is going on around the country.
We're safe now and that was what we wanted to achieve. In the coming days [we'll] make decisions that are the right thing for ourselves.
Donegal will play Tyrone and Mayo in their final two rounds of the League. It will be interesting to see how McGuinness approaches the fixtures with top flight status secured.
Speaking on League Sunday on Sunday night, Tomás Ó Sé echoed the sentiments of McGuinness saying it was "wrong" that there was only a week between the league final and the start of Championship.
💬 "I think it's wrong. There should definitely be a two-week gap"
Tomás Ó Sé on the proximity between the league finals and the start of the championship
📺 Watch Allianz League Sunday live: https://t.co/AKAre5FHdN pic.twitter.com/aA9WNwuw3h— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) March 2, 2025
Paddy Tally admits league survival will be difficult
The defeat leaves the Paddy Tally-managed Derry with their Division 1 survival hopes hanging by a thread, while Donegal are on eight points at the table's summit alongside Galway.
The former Kerry coach admits that his side is far behind his Ulster counterparts after today's loss.
We're definitely behind Donegal; they have had a vast amount of work done, and they've been at it for a long time compared to us," he told BBC Sport NI.
"We're playing catch up. That's not an excuse, though; there was a game to be won today."
Tally was pleased with his side's performance after their disappointing display in the defeat against Dublin at Croke Park last weekend but was left frustrated they couldn't hold on for at least a point.
I'm disappointed we didn't get the result, but I'm very pleased with the way the boys played. he added.
Last week, we didn't play well and were all over the place. Today, we looked much more like a team. We could have got something out of it, but we didn't.
I can't complain with the players' effort, but Donegal just got a march on us at the end of the game.
Tally admits it’s a long shot that they'll stay in Division One for 2026, and their attention now turns to the bigger picture, which is the championship.
We need other results to go our way, and we just have to keep going. Staying in Division One would be fantastic, but the bigger picture is the squad's development, and we have to get the squad ready for championship.
The jubilant celebrations when Derry beat Dublin last year in perhaps the greatest league final of all time now seem a distant memory.
