Kevin Cassidy throws down the gauntlet to Jim McGuinness on Donegal return

"Up you step Son."

Kevin Cassidy has thrown down the gauntlet to Jim McGuinness and called for him to make a return as Donegal manager. Donegal is in in dire straits following the departure of their manager Paddy Carr, who didn't even last the entirety of the league before losing his job. The yellow and green county are all but guaranteed to be relegated, their captain Paddy McBrearty is out injured, and their talisman of the past decade, Michael Murphy, has retired. To make matters worse, everything associated with Donegal off the field has also imploded following Karl Lacey's resignation from his role as Head of the Academy. In an open statement, Lacey and fellow coaches who also left their positions said that they "no loner have trust in the governance of Donegal". As it stands, the senior inter-county team don't have an official manager, and the academy currently has development teams that haven't even began their season yet. Carr's departure comes after a meeting with the Donegal players who feel that he is not the right man to be in charge of their county at this time. To make matters worse, Jim McGuinness told The Examiner that before Carr was selected as the next head coach, he himself made his services available. McGuinness last took charge of the county in 2011, winning three Ulster tiles and one All-Ireland before making the managerial move to soccer. Kevin Cassidy, who was banished from the squad that would go on to win the All-Ireland in 2012 by McGuinness for his involvement in a book written by Declan Bogue, has challenged his former boss to make good on his word. Taking to social media, Cassidy posted an image of the Glenties native and tweeted: "Going from bad to worse here in Donegal. Feel sorry for Paddy Carr a real nice man." https://twitter.com/KCASS7/status/1638596691996680212

"Right Jim what was that you said last week? Up you step Son"

Of course the Gaoth Dobhair man was maybe taking a light-hearted jab at his former gaffer, but there are those in the county who would love to see McGuinness make the step up again. Related links:

• Paddy Carr resigns after"discussion with senior members of Donegal team"
• Shay Given talks about GAA, supporting Donegal and 'sweeper keepers'
• Lee Keegan blames Donegal's lack of evolution for Michael Murphy