FORMER county star Damian Diver hopes that the Donegal senior footballers can overcome Sunday’s disappointment and stick together in order to try and go one further in the 2026 campaign.

Jim McGuinness’s Donegal were on the receiving end of a ten-point defeat to Kerry in Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final at Croke Park.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Jim McGuinness and his team as they just never managed to fully recover from the Kingdom’s flourishing opening which saw them race into an early nine-point advantage at HQ.

Reflecting on the All-Ireland decider, Diver feels that nerves of the big occasion may have been a factor in the side’s display and hopes that players can learn and adapt to these situations with all bar three of the squad members earning their first experience of an All-Ireland showpiece.

“It was disappointing, none of us saw that coming. Kerry came flying into the game from the start and we found it hard to get hands on the ball around the middle which meant we were probably chasing the game. It’s not easy chasing the ball in Croke Park against a team like Kerry who can hold onto it well.

“Even when we had the ball, our same energy didn’t seem to be there. As someone said to me, nerves are a bit like a letter from the bank. It deflates you, it suppresses everything, your legs are heavier and that’s just part of it. It’s part of the learning that you’ve to take out of it so that your body can adapt to those situations and go out with no shackles or a no-care attitude and tear into a team like the way you normally would.

“It is a lot easier said than done, especially on an All-Ireland Final day in Croke Park and all the pageantry that comes with it. The expectations that probably even came with it in players’ own heads listening to it all week. It’s not easy to get over all that and play your own game at the same time.”

He added: “I wouldn’t change anything for next year. Yeah, we were beaten by Kerry on All-Ireland Final day but I think if we played the way we normally do with the same players we’ve had all year, I think the scoreline could’ve been different. It’s just about fine tuning what you have and learning from how you felt or what it was like and changing a few pieces there so that when the ball is thrown in you’re feeling a million dollars.”

Meanwhile, Donegal GAA are expected to release fixtures for the Club Championship in the coming days.

There have been some suggesstions that the club action would be pushed back a week or two but there have been no formal requests on the matter.

The Senior, Intermediate, and Junior Championships are all due to begin on August 9/10.