Dubs stars happy to concentrate on club glory bid
However, Crokes and Dublin defender Paul Griffin believes a second straight All-Ireland club title for the county – Gilroy’s own St Vincent’s claimed the honours in March – would be the perfect launching pad for the new manager.
The downside for Griffin, Mark Vaughan, Darren Magee and others likely to be drafted in to the county set-up is that they will miss the floodlit Croke Park extravaganza on January 31 when Dublin and Tyrone kick off the NFL and the GAA’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
“All I’m focusing on is the club and being as successful as we can be this year,” said Griffin. “Dublin will come on the back of that and, if we can be successful, it will be a big lift if Dublin clubs can win back to back All-Irelands.”
Gilroy isn’t the only inter-county manager affected by Sunday’s result. Brian Kavanagh (Longford), Adrian Morrissey (Wexford) and Liam McBarron (Fermanagh) will all be taking leave of county duties until late February at the very earliest.
Crokes will not be apologising for that and they will in fact be hopeful their unavailability stretches on into mid-March. They do however face a difficult task if they are to replicate the club’s sole All-Ireland success in 1995.
“We’re one of four teams left so of course we have a good chance,’’ said Griffin. “It’s just a case of enjoying this now and then building up towards February. We have a long gap and it’s about making sure we’re ready.
“You’re in a semi-final so you have as good a chance as the other teams left in the competition but it’s going to be difficult. The other teams have all come through difficult campaigns. Teams like Corofin and Crossmaglen have experience of this stage so it’s going to be competitive.”
It was a Galway side – Salthill-Knocknacarra – who ended Crokes’ All-Ireland ambitions in 2006, which was the last time the club made it to the last four – and they will meet another in the shape of Corofin in the semis should the Connacht representatives see off the challenge of London’s Tir Chonaill Gaels.
Crokes are listed as favourites to ascend the Hogan Stand steps on March 17 but they will need to produce superior performances to those which have so far delivered county and provincial honours.
“Football-wise we can improve,” Griffin admitted. “As long as your base is hard work and showing character and sticking to your task then you’ll go a long way in football. There’s a lot of natural talent in the team and that will come out provided you have your base right.
“Work-rate is what has got us through these games. You couldn’t say we’ve played fantastic flowing football but we’ve stuck at it. We’ve put teams under pressure and got through on the back of that.”
With Crossmaglen and Ballinderry still to decide who will represent Ulster, there are six sides still left in the mix and the main difficulty for those standing next week will be maintaining the momentum that has taken them this far.
The guts of two months and the festive season separate the provincial and national segments of the competition and challenge matches tend to be thin on the ground with so many teams at all levels going into hibernation.
“It’s a difficult one because you’re going to struggle to get games. It’s just a case of making sure you’re as ready as you can. We have been through a few Leinster campaigns and we know what it’s about. It’s about pushing on and seeing if we can get an All-Ireland out of it.”
