Donegal manager Jim McGuinness has claimed there is a witch hunt against him and his players that has crossed boundaries normally associated with the GAA.

McGuinness has also rounded on his team's critics by suggesting it is "morally" wrong for ex-players "to be making money on the back of players who are out of work and trying their best for their county in a voluntary capacity".

In an impassioned defence of his players at yesterday's announcement that Allianz would sponsor the football and hurling leagues for a further three years, McGuinness claimed it was his defence of Ryan Bradley last May which was the source of the "witch hunt" against him and Donegal.

Bradley's Man of the Match award for the Donegal/Antrim Ulster championship opener was the source of ridicule on 'The Sunday Game', drawing an angry response from McGuinness at the time.

"I think from the moment I stood up for Ryan Bradley, there was a media witch hunt for myself personally and for the team. There is a lot of crap going on."

McGuinness has also suggested that the door could remain open for Kevin Cassidy but insisted that the player knew that there were parameters which had to be observed when he co-operated with the book 'This is Our Year'.

"What happened was so far over the line in relation to our group," he said.