Bealin: Whelan must stay on for Dubs

FORMER Dublin midfielder Paul Bealin has called on Ciarán Whelan to shelve any plans of retirement for the sake of the Blues’ future development.

Whelan intimated earlier in the week that he might call it quits having failed to establish himself in Pat Gilroy’s team this term.

Speaking on Newstalk’s Saturday Sports Show, Bealin argued that Whelan still had something to offer in terms of offering a guiding hand to up-and-coming stars.

Criticising the tendency to allow players to retire too early in Dublin, Bealin recalled his own experiences of breaking into the Dublin team and the absence of a regular father figure next to him.

“I just hope he doesn’t go” said Bealin. “Dublin have this habit of getting rid of players far too early. He’s a great man to have around and I just don’t think he can be replaced yet. I think he has an awful lot to offer.

“While he might be tired after 12 or 13 years involved with Dublin football, and maybe he’s looking and saying ‘I don’t see this current crop of players getting an All-Ireland medal’, for Dublin football itself, if he can nurture another guy alongside him…

“I certainly remember coming in in 1989 and I had a mix of four or five different lads. I played with Jim Ronayne, Declan Bolger; they kept changing the guy beside me. I was the younger guy coming in trying to get someone solid beside me that had played for years.

“You need somebody with a bit of experience in midfield in Dublin, who is physically strong, both in league and championship football.

“I just hope somebody persuades Ciaran to hold on because I think he has a bit more to offer.”