Dubs stars happy to concentrate on club glory bid

NEW Dublin boss Pat Gilroy will have to make do without some key players for the first few months of his reign following Kilmacud Crokes’ Leinster club final victory over Rhode.

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.