Gilroy calls for change

HIS county may have won six of the last seven Leinster SFC titles but Pat Gilroy believes that the provincial championships have had their day and should be replaced by a more equitable system.

The Dublin manager isn’t the first high-profile figure to state the need for a radical overhaul of the All-Ireland championship but he is realistic enough to know that the association’s adherence to tradition will prevent such seismic events in the foreseeable future.

“The provincial championships are struggling in terms of their appeal but you get used to the system and what you have to play,” he said yesterday. “So, from a Dublin perspective, I amreasonably comfortable with knowing how we want to navigate the year. But I do think that four groups of eight would make a lot of sense. It seemsunfair that some teams could play two games and make a quarter-final andother teams could play four and still not get there. So four groups of eight would seem to make sense.