By BBC (Sports) | Created at 2025-01-16 17:14:04 | Updated at 2025-01-16 20:12:15
3 hours ago
Jim McGuinness believes Michael Murphy will return to Donegal duty energised following his two years away from the inter-county game and that he will also benefit from the new football rules.
The Donegal boss said that the 35-year-old was the best player in the county's club championship last year and that it would have been "remiss of me not to ask a person like that".
And after being approached, the five-time All-Star and 2012 All-Ireland winning skipper confirmed his return to Donegal colours in early November.
"If you're still doing it, you feel you've got the hunger, I think that was an important part for him," McGuinness told BBC Sport NI.
"Michael carried a lot of pressure, he captained Donegal for his whole career pretty much. I think that circuit breaker refreshed him and hopefully now he'll come back in and enjoy his football.
"Obviously, the rules will help. The fact he can stay up the park or get up the park quickly from the goalkeeping position."
McGuinness made the last remark with a smile amid reports that the Glenswilly man played in goal in a recent challenge game.
Murphy was a member of the Jim Gavin-led Football Review Committee which came up with the wide-ranging package of new Football Rules passed by huge majorities at the GAA's Special Congress in late November.
McGuinness joked about the conspiracy theory suggesting Murphy had come up with rules alterations to suit his own game amid his impending return to inter-county duty.
"I have a lot of friends in Croke Park so I just have to pick up the phone and get Michael onto that committee and obviously we go from there.
"We start strategising out that we're going to change the rules for the benefit of Michael to get him back in!"
Murphy was bothered by a hamstring injury following his return to the Donegal squad but looks likely to be in contention for the early rounds of the Division One campaign which starts with their 26 January opener against Kerry in Killarney.
Asked whether he might consider resting the Glenswilly man during stages of the league with a view to keeping him fresh for the championship which begins with the Ulster preliminary round meeting with Derry on 5-6 April, McGuinness replied: "We look very, very closely to where the players are at.
"We look at what they've done, we know what we want to do with them, we know where we want to get them to and how we want to build them.
"Every single one of them will be on a different trajectory from that point of view. We're hoping they all land in the same place eventually."
Murphy is not the only addition to last year's panel with Eoin McHugh and Odhran McFadden-Ferry returning to the squad and 19-year-old Finbarr Roarty also included after his brief involvement in the early part of last year.
The Naomh Conaill player made his Donegal debut early last January in the Dr McKenna Cup against Armagh but when it was learned that the county had contravened GAA rules by playing the then 17-year-old at senior inter-county level, McGuinness was handed a proposed eight-week ban which was later rescinded after a successful appeal.
