O’Leary wants Mullins as Dubs’ boss

FORMER goalkeeping great John O’Leary is convinced that Dublin can win next year’s All-Ireland SFC if Brian Mullins is at the helm.

A selector under Tommy Carr and manager of the Ladies SFC team which contests Sunday’s All-Ireland final, O’Leary is adamant Mullins or outgoing selector Paul Caffrey could lead the capital to honours.

O’Leary, touted as one of the favourites for the job before Carr was appointed (until he criticised county board chairman John Bailey in his biography, ‘Goodbye to the Hill’), didn’t express an interest in the post.

In Croke Park yesterday for a media briefing on the Ladies finals, he joked: “I’m not taking over the Dublin job lads,” when the issue was broached.

“When I get to sleep at night I don’t be dreaming about it,” he added.

But on a serious note, he said: “I’d love if they would appoint someone who would pull the players together - because the guys are committed. I have spoken to a few lads; they need somebody to pull everything together.

“Someone like Brian Mullins would do it. For me, as a Dublin player he was superb - look at the way he played. If you could get players playing the way Brian Mullins did in terms of commitment, they could win things.

“Paul Caffrey has been with Tommy Lyons and he needs a job as manager. He comes from that same school of thought (as Mullins) and has that style of management ... that pride about wearing the Dublin jersey.

“If either of those gets the job I would put money on Dublin to win the All-Ireland next year.”

O’Leary said he learned a lot from his time in charge of the Wicklow team - about managing players and organisation - before taking over the Dublin Ladies last year.

“The easy bit is they are wearing Dublin jerseys, the difficulty for me in Wicklow was they weren’t. That’s no disrespect to the lads because they’re great guys down there and worked really hard at their game.

“But I just couldn’t bring the extra dimension to it. Here, maybe I have, I don’t know. Sunday will tell.”

And he wants all Dublin fans to be at Croke Park on Sunday.

“At the end of the day if you’re a Dublin fan, you’re a Dublin fan. You don’t sit on the couch watching something on Sky, especially when you can watch the reruns during the week.

“This is a Dublin team in an All-Ireland final in Croke Park - the only chance for Dublin of being in a final this year.

“If you’re a real Dublin fan, this is where you should be on Sunday - not anywhere else.”

* Other than the speculation concerning former manager Gerry McCaul being a possible successor to Tommy Lyons, the name of former Meath star Gerry McEntee has been mentioned. McEntee was joint manager (with Paddy Clarke) of the St Brigid’s team which won the Leinster club title last season. However, apart from being a proud Meath man, McEntee is one of the leading surgeons in the country, which would seem to rule him out.