Ryan Bradley was often held up as one of Jim McGuinness’s biggest success stories – and the Buncrana man has urged Donegal’s youngsters to ‘stick with it’.
Bradley won the All-Ireland in 2012 and two Ulster titles with Donegal before emigrating to Abu Dhabi in the autumn of 2013.
Bradley was transformed under McGuinness, who wrote about the player’s dedication in his autobiography, ‘Until Victory Always’.
“Ryan ran the roads seven days a week. He went out running when every muscle in his body was screaming for rest,” McGuinness wrote.
“Usually he put up around eight or ten kilometres in the morning so he could burn fat. And he went from fifteen and a half stone to thirteen stone six.”
Bradley has kept a close eye on things from afar and believes it will take time for Donegal to return to the heady days of the McGuinness era.
“It’s a big change with a lot of the 2012 team retiring. It’s not easy for the young lads coming through to lose a lot of experience,” Bradley said.
“Rory done a great job with the team and it will take time, two or three years. It will come good again, hopefully.
“The boys coming in are very young. They definitely have the ability.
“They have to learn from the defeats. It’s tricky. They just need to stick with it and it’ll come good.
“Teams now are all big, strong, athletic men. Those lads are still developing. Hopefully they’ll build up and start getting success back.”
Bradley admits that he has missed the dressing room buzz since his departure four years ago now.
He said: “I miss it big time. I miss being with the lads. It was great fun. It was life-changing. I’ll never forget it. 2012 was the best year of my life in football. It was great for the club also, coming back to the town and seeing the delight it brought.”
Listen to the full interview below …
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