NAOMH CONAILL boss Martin Regan revealed master Jim McGuinness is always at the end of the phone should he need advice.

The Glenties man, 50, is preparing to lead Donegal for the second time but always makes time for when his home club comes calling.

Naomh Conaill are in a record SEVENTH county SFC final in a row and will face Gaoth Dobhair in Ballybofey tomorrow.

Regan’s men are gunning for back-to-back crowns against the 2018 Ulster champions.

McGuinness was joint-manager for their 2005 and 2010 county titles, with Regan part of his winning team.

McGuinness took the Donegal job for the first time in July 2010 and led the Tír Chonaill men to All-Ireland glory in 2012 before stepping away two seasons later.

Good pal Regan has led the club to four Dr Maguire Cups in his nine years as manager and explained how he regularly stays in contact with the Sam Maguire-winning gaffer.

TOP MAN

He told SunSport: “Jim is a legend at Naomh Conaill, he’s helped us loads over the years.

“He’s always at the end of the phone if you need to ring him to bounce an idea off him.

“He’s always been extremely helpful, even in the years when he hasn’t been involved with us.

“He’d always take a phone call and in my nine years as manager, he has easily helped us in five or six of those. He took a few sessions last year and has been huge for us.

“He gets the best out of everyone, you are always looking for tips and learning from him.

“It’s a huge lift for Donegal that he’s back, he will get the best out of that group of players and whoever commits to that squad will be in a better place for it.

“He will want full commitment from everyone and if he gets that, God knows where he could end up with them because he just has that capacity to get the very best out of players.

“He will do that with Donegal again, I have absolutely no doubt, so there’s exciting times ahead for the county and it will be interesting to see where they end up over the next few years.”

Regan has no shortage of All-Ireland-winning experience in his own dressing room.

Stalwarts Anthony Thompson, 37, and Leo McLoone, 34, are key men in his team and were vital cogs in Donegal’s success 11 years ago.

The pair made their 100th championship appearances for the club in their county quarter-final win over Kilcar, along with Eoin Wade and goalkeeper Stephen McGrath.

And their manager admits that experience has been priceless as they chase their seventh senior title.

EXPIERIENCE

Regan explained: “It makes our job an awful lot easier, not just in games where you can rely on those boys and their experience, but what they bring to training.

“Their application sets the standard for a lot of young players coming through.

“They are running the team as much as we are, encouraging players, and you couldn’t speak highly enough of them.

“Young players could be coming into the dressing room in awe of them, but that doesn’t happen here because they know them so well anyway.

“A lot of the boys would have coached them at underage level, so Anthony Thompson or Leo McLoone aren’t superstars to a 17-year-old coming in.

“It’s a step up in standard but it’s not really that new to them because they know what’s going on already.”

When it comes to county finals, Naomh Conaill know the drill, but Gaoth Dobhair are no different.

The club are back with a bang after conquering Ulster five years ago and Rónán Mac Niallais has plenty of All-Ireland-winning pedigree too.

Ex-Donegal heroes Odhrán Mac Niallais and Neil and Eamon McGee are still soldiering with the club while Ethan Harkin and Gavin McBride have starred this summer.

Regan’s men are hot favourites but he knows that counts for nothing against a hungry and quality Gaoth Dobhair team.

He said: “It’s so hard to get to a final so you’ve got to make the most of it when you get there.

“It does get a bit easier to manage everything because it’s normal practice and you are not under as much pressure as other years.

“The fact that our team hasn’t changed an awful lot makes it easier too, because you are not trying to find something new all the time.

“They are well versed in what they need to do because the day itself comes with a lot of pressure too. But Gaoth Dobhair are no different.

“Michael Carroll, Dara Ó Baoill and Odhrán Mac Niallais are all top-class players and they are a really formidable team.

“Finals are so hard to get to and even harder to win. We’ve lost enough of them as well.

“Even though we are very appreciative of having six titles, you want to make the most of them when you get there because these times don’t last forever.”