O’Neill hopeful Gilroy will continue Dubs role

FORMER Dublin boss Dr Pat O’Neill believes Pat Gilroy should continue at the helm of the All-Ireland champions.

Gilroy was the first manager since O’Neill to lead the Dubs to senior football championship glory, ending a 16-year famine last month. Gilroy has taken time out to consider his future, and to decide whether or not he can continue to juggle top-class management with the demands of his family and business life, but O’Neill has urged the St Vincent’s man to lead Dublin’s bid to win back-to-back titles.

O’Neill said: “I believe he should stay on, but whether he will be able to is a personal decision that he’ll have to make himself. He’s a young man, he has a busy lifestyle in terms of work and business, and running inter-county teams is a big job. So it’s a personal decision, and there’s no point going into it if you don’t have full commitment to it.

“I believe there will be a major player-power push to keep him there, because he is extremely popular amongst them.”

O’Neill sees the age profile of the current Dublin squad as a major advantage as they prepare to go in search of another All-Ireland title in 2012, but warned that a successful defence of the Sam Maguire Cup will not come easily.

“It’s very hard to win All-Irelands, and we certainly know that in Dublin. But they’re a young team, so that’s on their side. With winning All-Irelands comes distractions and other aspects come into life. And people, because of the commitments involved, have to take a new look at things. All of those factors will have to come into play, but for the moment, we’re there.”