Jim McGuinness says Donegal struggled to change their tactics mid-game once Monaghan imposed their game plan on them.

Writing in The Irish Times, the former Donegal manager notes that teams at the highest level are so finely-tuned that it can be difficult to switch to a Plan B as the match unfolds:

"Monaghan excelled at not taking the ball into contact," he points out. "It meant Donegal couldn't do what they wanted to do: tackle. They took that weapon away from Donegal while running them all over the field.

"And it was very difficult for Donegal to adjust. That is a key point about football at this level. If you know what a team is going to do, then you have a chance to beat them. And in Clones, Monaghan took the field with an iron-cast mindset that they knew what the Donegal boys would do. Asking a team to adjust - to push out, say, - off the cuff is very difficult.

"It t is conceivable Monaghan have been rehearsing that game plan for months. So even when Donegal started to see what Monaghan were at, it was difficult for them to adjust and to respond to it. Conor McManus's point after Monaghan worked ferociously hard to force a turnover on Christy Toye was a critical moment. It was a psychological blow for Donegal and a statement of intent by Monaghan. McManus seemed to identify that when he tipped Neil McGee on the chest."

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