Gilroy encouraged by his early risers, despite result

DUBLIN manager Pat Gilroy has played down the significance of Tuesday night’s O’Byrne Cup defeat to Westmeath.

Fielding an experimental team, Dublin almost pulled off a victory after trailing by seven points early in the second-half.

But Gilroy explained some of the players’ lack of familiarity with one another was a mitigating factor.

“We got level, but we’re not going to get too caught up in the results at this time of year,” he said. “There are fellas there and some of the lads barely knew their names because they were only out at the weekend because we got a couple of injuries in a training session on Saturday.

“You would have to be encouraged by the application, even by the established lads. Michael Darragh [McAuley] showed a lot of appetite for the game when he came in and that’s encouraging.”

However, Gilroy was encouraged by the fight-back in what were extremely trying conditions in Mullingar.

“It does show you that fellas have the appetite for it,” said the St Vincent’s man, who will trial more players in Sunday’s O’Byrne Shield game at Parnell Park.

“You have to get mentally right to play in that kind of game and when you’re down as much as we were in that game, you have to steel yourself and go at it. That was encouraging, particularly for the new lads because they tried hard.”

A number of players had also been up since five o’clock that morning to train with the panel.

Taking their trip back to the capital from Mullingar, several of those playing on Tuesday night would have been awake for 19 hours, taking in either work or study with a light training session and match.

However, when asked if he would take it easy on them, Gilroy again defended his practice of 6.30am starts.

“This time of year is all about our preparation and what we don’t want to do is have lads out five nights a week and that’s what they don’t want either.

“There’s a certain bank of work that needs to be done and that’s what we’re doing, that’s what we’re concentrating on. And we’re doing it in a relatively cautious way as well because we want to avoid injuries.

“There’s a lot of work that’s being done that’s kind of pre-habilitation work that doesn’t actually take that much out of them.”

Tuesday was Dublin’s first game since Conal Keaney’s decision to opt out of the football panel for Anthony Daly’s hurlers in 2011 and Gilroy was perhaps surprisingly support of the player’s choice.

“With Conal, knowing him so well, it’s the right decision for him and it’s what he really wanted to do at the moment.

“So it’s the right decision for him. If your head is there then that’s the right thing for everyone to do that. I genuinely hope that he really does make a difference for them because he is a talented hurler.”

Gilroy felt the Ballyboden St. Enda’s man, who has a young daughter, wouldn’t have been in a position to commit to both codes this season.

“Conal has a young family and realistically he’s at an age when he probably needs to concentrate on something. I don’t think for him, personally, it would have suited. I think both management teams would have been happy for him to have a go at it — I have said it before, if someone can physically do it then it’s fine.

“I think his personal situation, he’s got to work, is the main reason he wouldn’t entertain it.”

McAuley, a club-mate of Keaney’s also backed his decision to return to the hurling panel.

“Conal plays his cards close to his chest,” said the midfielder. “I think he wanted to give hurling a run. The best of luck to him.”

McAuley attended Tuesday’s 6.30am training session but counted himself luckier than others as he had “a nap” during the day.

Studying Leaving Certificate Irish, he is aiming to do primary school teaching via St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.

He drew derisory comments from the Westmeath crowd on Tuesday night when he came on as a half-time substitute wearing a snood, the fashion accessory favoured by a number of Premier League players.

However, he made light of it.

“Sure I was watching [Carlos] Tevez there the other night and he really looked the part!

“It was freezing out there, I had the tights and all. I was getting awful abuse on the sideline!

“I will have to think about it a second time now the next day!”