Darragh Ó Sé Identifies Jim McGuinness Comment That Sums Up Donegal's Big All-Ireland Error

One of the most surprising aspects of Donegal's All-Ireland final loss to Kerry was the complete inability of Jim McGuinness' side to impose themselves on the match.

The Ulster champions have played the game on their terms throughout the 2025 season, with other counties failing to live with their all action approach over the course of 70 minutes.

That was not the case on this occasion. Kerry were the ones to take the initiative in the game, with their dominance around the middle third the springboard to creating their scoring chances a bit further up the pitch.

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Jim McGuinness has been heavily praised for the way he has adapted his team to the GAA rule changes in 2025, although some are of the opinion that he entered the All-Ireland final against Kerry with the wrong sort of mindset.

Writing in the Irish Times, Darragh Ó Sé identified one particular post-match comment from McGuinness that summed up why they were outplayed by Kerry on the day.

I expected more from Jim McGuinness...

I thought McGuinness gave himself away a bit afterwards when he talked about how Donegal wanted a game where both sides controlled possession.

That wasn’t the game Kerry came to play. They didn’t want to control possession, they wanted to use possession. They wanted to inflict possession on Donegal.

It certainly seems that Donegal were a bit passive in this game, a statement that could not be made about Kerry on the back of their ferocious display.

Jim McGuinness will no doubt ponder how his team can improve over the coming months. You get the sense that they are unlikely to repeat the same mistakes in 2026.