Jim McGuinness says Donegal were determined not to leave Clones without the Anglo Celt Cup on Saturday evening.
After an epic Ulster decider, Donegal emerged from extra-time with the narrowest of victories over Armagh – retaining the title for only the third time in the county’s history.
[ Donegal win extra-time thriller against Armagh to take Ulster titleOpens in new window ]
“It was All-Ireland champions against Ulster champions,” said McGuinness afterwards. “We did not want to give that crown up but we had to go to the same level as we went last year to retain it. So, yeah, as I say, we’ll enjoy it tonight, but we’ll have to refocus very quickly for our group stages now.
“The Ulster Championship asks questions of you and if you can stand up and answer those questions, you learn a lot more about yourself and about your players. And we’ve managed to do that again today.
Inside Gaelic Games: The weekly GAA newsletter from The Irish Times
Peter Fitzpatrick: ‘Joe should have told the truth at the time in 2010, he knew it wasn’t a goal’
Jim McGuinness thrilled with Donegal’s Ulster win, but mass brawl mars scenes at final whistle
Tipperary ride out the storm to leave Clare on the precipice
“And we have to now take the learnings, and there is going to be a significant amount, from the game and see can we apply those now to the group stage and to the All-Ireland series.”
This was the fifth Ulster title McGuinness had managed Donegal to during his two stints at the helm.
“They’re all special. And you know, you’re a packed house out there and the sun’s shining. We all travelled to Ulster finals as children.
“Somebody’s going to win and somebody, unfortunately, is not going to win. And we had a lot of days against Armagh where we were out the wrong side of it. A lot of days I played in Ulster finals so they’re very, very special.
“And we will enjoy tonight and enjoy that with our families and everything else. And refocus then as quickly as we can because another competition is going to start now.
“But we’re not talking much about that tonight. Just proud of them tonight. Proud of the way they went about it and kept going to the very end. And they’re entitled to celebrate.”
GAA disciplinary officials are expected to review footage of a row that broke out involving players and squad members from both camps after the final whistle. Gardai had to separate those involved in what was a potentially dangerous flashpoint as supporters entered the field and suspensions are possible.
When asked about his perspective on the row, McGuinness said: “I don’t have a perspective on that, it’s not nice to see. It shouldn’t happen. I was giving my daughter a hug at the time. I didn’t see what happened, but no, it shouldn’t be in the game.”
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney must now try pick up his players again as they begin their Sam Maguire defence.
“Yeah, but you just have to start again. Some things are harder to take than others,” said the Armagh boss.
“We’ll just sit down over the next 24 hours and look at the game and see what we can control and what we can’t, and sort of try and push on.
“It’s always tough when you get beat, so what do you do? That’s part and parcel of sport, you just have to keep going.”
