Managers with seasons on the line

Mike Finnerty | 26 June 2025

One of our exclusives this Weekend on GAA+, Kerry vs Cavan

Jim McGuinness - Donegal

The Ulster champions will find out on Saturday evening if they have been battle-hardened or battle-scarred by their unrelenting schedule

A third game in 14 days is enough to test any team, but a ninth championship match of a marathon season against one of their biggest rivals will be another acid test of Jim McGuinness’ powers of motivation.

He told GAA+ after last Sunday’s comfortable win over Louth that ‘there were no challenges’ to the games coming thick and fast, ‘only opportunities’.

Still, Donegal could have done without the six-day turnaround and McGuinness will have to push all the right buttons to get his team up for this latest Ulster derby.

Gabriel Bannigan - Monaghan

The Farney men have arrived at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage nice and quietly, without fuss or fanfare, just the way that their manager would have wanted it.

Bannigan has watched his team bounce back impressively from their Ulster quarter-final defeat to Donegal, progressing through the group stages with wins over Louth, Clare and Down in businesslike fashion.

In fact, they were the only county to win all three round-robin games.

Away from the bright lights trained on some of the other All-Ireland contenders, they scored four goals and conceded six, and finished with a points difference of +19.

The team that Bannigan and coach, Andy Moran, have built certainly won’t fear Donegal after running them to three points in Ulster.

Another titanic struggle awaits.

Dessie Farrell - Dublin

Their air of invincibility may have been stripped away a little more in recent weeks, but the Metropolitans are still standing.

Farrell has watched his team lose two games en route to this stage of the championship, against Meath and Armagh, but will be hoping that the sight of the Tyrone jersey will bring out the best in his team on Saturday evening.

Back-to-back wins over Derry and Cork will also give Farrell plenty of reasons to be optimistic, but just one goal scored in their last three games though has to be a concern.

Last year was the first time since 2010 that Dublin failed to make the final four of the championship. They will need to pull out all the stops to get there this time.

Malachy O’Rourke - Tyrone

Will the real Tyrone stand up on Saturday?

That will be one of the burning questions for their manager this week as he tries to plot a first championship victory for the Red Hand county over the Dubs since 2008.

Getting a read on the 2021 All-Ireland champions is easier said than done.

Their ‘buzzer beater’ Ulster semi-final defeat to Armagh was followed by a rollercoaster round-robin stages where they beat Donegal, lost to Mayo, and hammered Cavan for the second time this summer.

O’Rourke will be hoping that a return to Croke Park — where Tyrone have traditionally done some of their best work — might get the juices flowing.

It certainly should suit the likes of Darren McCurry and Darragh Canavan.