Ger Brennan opens up on injury torment

Ger Brennan has opened up about the injury torment that forced him to quit Dublin, admitting he was mentally worn down at the end.

The two-time All-Ireland winning defender formally retired earlier this month having missed Dublin’s all- conquering 2015 campaign due to Achilles trouble and sat out 2014 as well.

He did captain St Vincent’s to an AIB All-Ireland Club title triumph in that time but was unable to reach the standards required for county football.

Back in July, Brennan withdrew from the Dublin panel before officially retiring from inter-county duty just months later.

He has returned to club action with a bang and impressed in all three games this month for St Vincent’s, who are back in the Dublin SFC final next weekend.

And, at just 30 years of age, he still has time on his side to get back to his best but dismissed any suggestion of a retirement U-turn.

It’s understood that away from football Brennan will shortly take up a high-profile sporting administration role though he declined to comment on that.

“It was a frustrating two years, I wasn’t enjoying it at the end because I was fed up on the physio bench,” said Brennan.

“It was all the gym work, then you’d get back on the pitch and have another setback. Eventually, that just wears you down mentally. Stepping away from it was the best thing I could have done.

“I feel great and I feel renewed and rejuvenated in many ways and long may the club run last now. The body is actually holding up well. The thing is, games from week to week are great because you don’t have to do too much training, certainly not heavy training, during the week. So it’s just about staying fresh and that’s working well for me.”

Even if his fitness and form hold up over the winter period, Brennan won’t consider any comeback with Dublin and revealed he simply doesn’t have the hunger any more for the punishing schedule required.

“I’ve other stuff going on in my life and football isn’t my be all and end all, I’ve always had other interests,” said Brennan. “I’ve always seen football as a hobby and a passion. The bottom line is I don’t have the hunger to put in what it takes at inter-county level.

“It’s a massive full-time commitment, bar getting paid, that demands lots of rest, training all the time and you just need to be able to give everything to it and I don’t have that hunger.

“It (retirement) was probably coming for a bit longer than it seemed. I know it came out quickly in the end but I was probably thinking about it last year. At that stage, I said I wanted to finish on a high and to finish playing on the field of play, particularly after the defeat to Donegal.

“I definitely wanted to come in and make a difference in 2015 after that but obviously I didn’t get that opportunity. Other lads did and they took it. But, no, I’m very content, I’ve no regrets.”

Back-to-back Leinster champions Vins can become the first team since Na Fianna, whom they defeated last weekend, to win three Dublin titles in a row if they overcome Ballyboden St Enda’s next Sunday.

“The focus would never be on the three-in-a-row or stuff like that,” insisted Brennan. “It’s merely trying to improve with each game. I suppose we were disappointed with how we finished up last year, losing an All-Ireland semi-final to Corofin.

“It was quite a flat performance on the day and we didn’t perform to our best. It’s okay having tried your best but the teams that tend to succeed are the ones that are able to learn and are able to find motivation again following a defeat. Hopefully that’s the case for us looking towards the county final next weekend.”

St Vincent’s manager Tommy Conroy has boldly suggested Ballyboden may actually be ‘slight favourites’ next Sunday, claiming they are ‘on a mission’ this year.

“They’ve probably been a team that’s won one title in the last five or six years but would have wanted more, a bit like Cork under Conor Counihan in terms of All-Ireland successes,” said Brennan of Ballyboden.

“They’re big and strong, a lot of inter-county experience, both football and hurling. It’ll be a tough battle, they’ll have more experience I suppose than Na Fianna and I don’t think they’ll let us pull away as easily or as quickly.”

Meanwhile, Paul Schutte is set to miss Saturday’s Dublin SHC final after dislocating his shoulder. The inter-county defender picked up the injury lining out against Kilmacud Crokes on Saturday.