Former Armagh forward Steven McDonnell believes Kieran McGeeney's future as manager of the county should never have been up for debate, and said his old team-mate has given "two fingers" up to the doubters by leading his side to the brink of glory.
Eleven months ago, McGeeney survived a vote over his future at a meeting of club delegates. The vote was 46-16 in his favour, a comfortable win that allowed the 52-year-old to lead the team for a tenth consecutive season.
The rest is history.
Armagh are into an All-Ireland SFC final against Galway on Sunday with McGeeney potentially 70 minutes away from cementing legendary status in the Orchard County.
"It should never have gone to a vote," said McDonnell ahead of the decider.
"I think the work that Kieran has done has been underestimated. Yes, he has been there 10 years, but sometimes the (expectation of) Armagh fans outweighs the reality.
"We have only ever won 14 Ulster finals. One (Armagh) team won seven of them. We have only won one All-Ireland.
"If the vote had gone against Kieran McGeeney last year I think we may have lost some of our senior players. Rory Grugan, Andrew Murnin, Stefan Campbell may have gone with Kieran.
"Thankfully that vote went the way it should have gone and now we're in a very strong position, 70 minutes away from winning an All-Ireland. What a remarkable season we've had, a great two fingers up from Kieran to the people who wanted him out."
"I think it will be a more open game than a lot of people maybe expect it to be."
McDonnell has long aired his admiration for McGeeney, who so passionately led the Orchard dressing room as a player when they famously lifted the Sam Maguire Cup in 2002.
He is not surprised the Mullaghbawn man is getting things right, highlighting the years of good work he has done to strengthen Armagh's foundations.
"That is just the type of character and man Kieran is," McDonnell added. "He was never there for the short term. Yes, it took a bit longer than expected, but he has got himself into a position where he has the team where he wants them to be, competing for major honours.
"There has been a lot of good work done in the last 10 years. That wouldn't have been possible without the effort and commitment from Kieran."
On the game itself, McDonnell anticipates an entertaining tussle between two teams with plenty of attacking talent.
"I think it will be a more open game than a lot of people maybe expect it to be, particularly early on," he said.
"The fact that they have played each other on numerous occasions over the last couple of years, there is a bit of familiarity with them but that won't make a difference. It's about getting the pairings right.
"You'll not win an All-Ireland final without scoring and both managers played football that way. Kieran was a direct player in terms of playing at centre-half back. I relied heavily on the service and the delivery of ball from Kieran and he knows that himself.
"I think it'll be a good game of football, with both teams really going for it.
"There is a lot of hype around (Armagh). You've a lot of cars being painted, a lot buildings being painted, sheep, and a lot of requests for tickets. It is absolutely manic so it is, but it is an enjoyable place to be."
One thing McDonnell does not want to see is an All-Ireland decided by a shootout.
This one could go all the way to penalties if it's a drawn replay, which is enough to send a shiver down the spine of any Armagh supporter.
Of the seven penalty shootouts that have occurred in the championship since the first one in 2022, Armagh have been on the losing side in four of them.
"I don’t ever want to see penalties and Armagh ever again!" McDonnell said.
"It’s an amazing fact that the penalty kick was invented in Armagh, in a placed called Milford.
"I think it’s a wrong way for Gaelic games to be finished.
"We've been on the wrong end of four penalty shootouts but if we had have won one I would say the same. I don’t like to see a team lose out through penalties and I think it would be totally wrong to lose out an All-Ireland through penalties."
Allianz ambassador Steven McDonnell was speaking ahead of the All-Ireland SFC final between Armagh and Galway
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship final, Armagh v Galway, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
