Will Donegal be the ones that play — or get played?

It’s been just over two weeks since Donegal turned the bookies odds on their head and delivered their finest display of the Jim McGuinness era, seeing off heavily-favoured Dublin with a pulsating semi-final performance that few outside the set-up saw coming.

The outpouring of emotion from McGuinness and his players at the final whistle gave a clear indication what the victory meant to them as a group. After last year’s implosion in the quarter-final against Mayo, where their vaunted defensive system was decimated, they returned to the heights of 2012 with a display that married their defensive game plan with an ability to attack from deep and get support into Colm McFadden in the full-forward line.

As a group they will benefit from being in an All-Ireland as recently as two years ago and the majority of their squad will know how to handle the distractions in the build-up to such a big game and ensure their full attention is on producing another performance of that quality against Kerry. In the lead up to the Dublin semi-final, Donegal spent five nights in Johnstown House on a training camp and have repeated that routine in Lough Erne ahead of the final, these five days will allow McGuinness and co tailor the exact game plan they believe will be required.