"I'm not at the moment, definitely not," Jim McGuinness said on Thursday night when asked if he was looking to make a move back into Gaelic football management.
McGuinness had been linked to the vacant Mayo manager's position, being among the favourites to succeed Stephen Rochford. That link initially came two weeks prior to Rochford's resignation.
Speaking at an Off The Ball event a Croke Park, the former Donegal manager said that he is continuing to pursue a career in soccer coaching.
After five years at Celtic, McGuinness spent six months with former Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt at Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan. He departed that role in January.
"It's been a long journey of development in another sport," said McGuinness.
I was plucked from obscurity in many respects and given the opportunity to do something that is a massive challenge. I had great support from Celtic all the way along, the owner the whole way through to the managers I worked under.
I'm on a journey really. I've come back, finished my badges, my A-license. I'm in a position to take a team and I'm looking to do that shortly.
I've dedicated six years to what I'm doing at the moment and I need to get the answer if I can do it or not.
I'm excited. I've recently got a lot closer in my mind to how I see the game, how it will be coached, how the game will be trained.
When I started out in Gaelic, I started with a blank piece of paper as a very young man and built what I felt was a way to develop a team, build a team and coach a team. I've done the same in soccer and that document is complete now.
I've spoken to a lot of high-level coaches around the world who have stress tested it, had a good look at it and given me feedback on it.
I'm at that point now where I'm looking forward to seeing if I can make it happen. It needs to be professional sport, it needs to be senior men to test myself because there is a difference.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
