Jim McGuinness enters a potentially summer-defining game of stick or twist

Donegal's Ulster SFC quarter-final demolition of Derry last week in Celtic Park will likely remain the biggest moment of the provincial championships.

On the presumption that Kerry and Dublin will enjoy safe passages through Munster and Leinster respectively, and with the status quo final already in place out west, it is only Ulster where the story is up in the air.

Even if Down were to do the unthinkable and take out Armagh, or Tyrone were to overturn everyone’s new favourites Donegal, that match last week will remain the story.

Like a boxer in his prime, Jim McGuinness had stated his intention. Not even his impressive past record mustered anything more than hope for his charges against the Derry machine. As he stood over the Oak Leaf wreckage there was a clear 'I did tell you’ vibe as the result let the country know: Jimmy’s back.

Attention quickly turned to the tactics, and it was hard to escape the simplicity of it. There were only two main elements to it and one cast iron rule.

Extra tight defensive shape and Shaun Patton’s long kickouts were the key elements. All resultant counters being done at maximum pace was the rule that brought the destructive power.

So where do we go from here? You can be guaranteed that a game like this has an impact far outside the two teams involved. Setups across the country will have seen how the contest panned out and reflected on lessons for their own team.

You can call them copycats but, in every other human field, progress is driven through learning from the successes and failures of others. Sport is no different.

There are also certain people that have a gift for making real step changes in thought. McGuinness is one of those people.

His second coming is seen rightly as a real ‘what’s next’