Jim McGuinness has urged his Donegal team to "grasp the nettle" in their All-Ireland final showdown with Kerry.
McGuinness famously led the county to Sam Maguire glory in 2012 – a first win in 20 years – and stepped away from the role following the All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry in 2014.
His second stint in charge of the county has brought back-to-back Ulster titles and a return to the biggest stage for Sunday's clash with the Kingdom, who are gunning for a 39th SFC success and a first since 2022.
Donegal have played an incredible ten games in the championship this season, losing just once, to Tyrone, in the round-robin phase.
"The challenge is immense in many respects but where would you want to be other than Croke Park on All-Ireland final day," McGuinness (above), whose side beat Meath in the semi-final, told RTÉ Sport.
"Hopefully now they can grasp the nettle and really get after the game, and enjoy the game and enjoy the occasion – don't be overwhelmed but enjoy it and take the positives from all of the other games we’ve played into the match and show their true colours."
The Tír Chonaill men will arrive at Jones’s Road as underdogs, with Munster champions Kerry, who suffered a shock defeat to Meath in the All-Ireland group stage, hitting form at the right time.
Talismanic forward David Clifford's performances in the All-Ireland knockout series, in particular, have the Kingdom supporters travelling to Dublin in expectation.
The Fossa man has registered a total of 4-23 in wins over Cavan, defending champions Armagh and Tyrone.
Asked how they plan to deal with Kerry and their numerous threats, McGuinness said: "That remains to be seen, I suppose. We know exactly what we are going to get with Kerry.
"They are a team full of talent, full of confidence. They know their way around Croke Park so well, like the back of their hand.
"One of the biggest challenges will be that, will be meeting the green and gold jersey, for our players on the big day.
"It's a great opportunity for everybody in the county, none more so than the players and hopefully now they can take that opportunity."
McGuinness has also urged his players to dig deep when their opponents have their inevitable purple patches, emphasising that staying the fight is the key to victory.
"I suppose over the last two years you’d be really happy with any moment that they were backed into a corner, that they were always able to respond," said the 52-year-old.
"That didn’t happen against Tyrone in the match in Ballybofey that we lost but they were pushing hard to make that happen towards the end.
"We’ve been in a couple of difficult situations. We were four points down twice against Armagh last year in the Ulster final.
"There was moments along the way this year as well where you are pinned to your collar but they always seem to hold the head and find a way and keep digging in.
"And if you can get that, that’s probably the most important characteristic for any team.
"It’s never over and without question there’s going to be many questions asked by Kerry on All-Ireland final day.
"It’s just important when you are going well not to get too excited and when you are not going well and things are going against you that you keep the head down and keep responding.
The opening round-robin loss to Tyrone meant a busier schedule for Donegal than they might have preferred and McGuinness admits that they have been glad of the lighter load in the build up to the semi-final and final.
"You’re just working game by game," he said.
"The fact we lost against Tyrone, we knew we were going to be out three weeks on the bounce.
"That was going to bring its own challenges and thankfully we got the two-week build up to the semi-final and now to the final so it feels great to have that opportunity, take a breather, to have a step back, get coaching again and prepare the team.
"We’re happy with all that. Obviously when you are in a final you’ve to be very thankful. It’s a very privileged position to be in.
"I’m delighted that the players will get to experience that but hopefully now we want to be in the situation where we make it count."
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship final, Donegal v Kerry, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
