​‘Armagh will have big motivation’ after heartbreaks in recent years says Donegal's Paddy McBrearty

Armagh have suffered some heartbreaking defeats in recent years, namely losing in penalty shootouts against Galway and Monaghan in back-to-back All-Ireland Quarter-finals, as well as in the Ulster final against Derry last year.

Those painful losses mean that Armagh will bring a level of experience with them into Sunday’s final, and McBrearty says they will be motivated to go one better this year.

“They've been close to getting to an All-Ireland semi-final and All-Ireland finals, so I think they have more experience under their belts in terms of big games,” he said.

“Armagh have been a top team for the last 14 years really. Every time you play them, they are tough opposition. They've yet to get over the line in terms of the Ulster Championship, but I'm sure there's big motivation in their dressing room now.”

After disappointing defeats against Armagh in 2022 and Down in 2023, Donegal needed a lift, and they got a huge one last October when it was announced that 2012 All-Ireland winning manager Jim McGuinness was set to return.

His impact has been shown in their run to this weekend’s Ulster final, following impressive wins over Derry and Tyrone.

“We left a lot of big days behind us,” reflected McBrearty.

“We felt as players - how do we get over that line? We always thought if we had someone like Jim then we could win those big games.

“Thankfully he did come back, it was a lot of conversations, and we had to really convince him that this group was good enough, and that we would do whatever he said, and thankfully he did come back.

“The standard and expectations in terms of what he demands from you as players is the same, but the game itself has changed since he was last here in 2014, so it is interesting to see how he has come back into Gaelic, and it’s been a seamless transition now.”