It’s ten days since Donegal were sent hurtling out of the All-Ireland series following a crushing 16 point defeat by Mayo in Croke Park, supporters are still searching for reasons and asking the same question how did that happen? 
People have pointed out that it is difficult to sustain the same hunger and appetite the year after an All-Ireland success and it’s a fair point when you consider only one team Kerry have retained the Sam Maguire in the last twenty years.
What rests uncomfortably with Donegal fans is the worrying nature of the defeat. We were beat by 16 points and could have been beat by more. So why did it happen?
Players get complacent after success were told, it’s human nature, some simply argue that they just don’t have that same ravenous hunger that made them successful in the first place.
Others maintain they were just tired the excursions of the previous three years had finally caught up with the majority of the playing panel and took it’s toll.
Kevin Cassidy had spoken in great detail of the demands of what they were doing back in 2011 saying it was miles beyond anything they had experienced before.
During that time people had asked was that type of training sustainable? Maybe last Sunday’s defeat showed it wasn’t.
Cassidy said in 2011: “The warm ups are unbelievably tough, it’s without doubt the hardest I’ve ever trained before in my life, there is no slacking off, there is no giving in everyone has to empty the tank every night at training.
“A week after the Ulster Final there was pools of vomit on the pitch, the pitch had to be hosed down.
“I’ve never trained like it before it pushes you to the brink.”
Three years of that type of training would be hard for anyone group of players to sustain, but especially a group of players whose edge could have became blunted after two years of fantastic success.
McGuinness had said the league wasn’t important and wanted to use it to try new things and blood new players.
But the fact of the matter is Colm McFadden, Michael Murphy, Leo McLoone, Eamonn McGee,Ryan Bradley and Rory Kavanagh played in every game.
The only new players discovered were Ross Wherity and Ryan McHugh.
As recent as last month Patrick McBrearty at a function with students at Jordanstown was asked about how hard they train and McBrearty said that every night every member of that squad pledges that they will be the hardest training side in Ireland that night.
Fueling the belief that there has been no let up in the intensity to Donegal’s training that has been the foundation of the team’s success over the last couple of years.
Last year Donegal looked unbeatable, last Sunday if the contest was a boxing contest it would have been stopped after 30 minutes.
Was that down to hunger, desire, tiredness, belief or over training ?
Only time will tell but McGuinness and this group of players who have brought unbelievable success to this county in such a short space of time are unlikely to slip off the radar.
They captured the Country’s imagination and gave other Counties hope it’s hard to think of a squad who had such an aura surround them and their manager.
It’s premature to write off this team and their manager after a couple of poor performance, they are human after all.
They will have time now to rest and refocus and get the hunger for success back.
Tir Chonaill ABU!