Eoghan O’Donnell hoping Cunninghan staying on

Dublin defender Eoghan O’Donnell has backed Ger Cunningham to remain in charge of the county’s senior hurlers, despite their disappointing championship campaign.

The Dubs exited the championship at the hands of Cunningham’s native Cork with a three-point loss after a Leinster semi-final defeat to Kilkenny.

Cunningham this week suggested he will continue in his role once a season review is completed by the county board and O’Donnell reckons the the goalkeeping legend is the right man for the job.

“I haven’t paid any attention to the politics, there’s always rumors going around. But I hope he does stay on, he’s done a lot of hard work,” said O’Donnell.

“There are things we need to work on. But he’s put a huge platform there. And it could be a huge year next year,” added the 20-year-old, who started all three of Dublin’s summer senior matches.

Retirements may be expected with the future of veteran players such as David ‘Dotsy’ O’Callaghan and Niall Corcoran possibly set to contemplate their futures.

But O’Donnell is hoping the Dubs will retain their older heads.

“I don’t think decisions are made now. You have to take a couple of weeks or months to digest what happened and get your emotions in order,” said the Whitehall Colmcille club man.

“It’s a tough decision to make. They’ve given so much to Dublin hurling. I know Dotsy is carrying an injury at the moment so I’m not sure what they’ll do.

“They’ve been great servants to Dublin hurling over the years and I hope we see them back.

“Even if it’s not so much playing on the pitch as giving people advice in the dressing-room.

“Especially for young lads like me, who can talk to someone like Niall Corcoran, who has been there and done it.”

O’Donnell has since turned his attention to the county’s U21 campaign as Dublin prepare for a Bord Gáis All-Ireland semi-final against Galway in Thurles tomorrow.

And the defender admits the competition is a welcome distraction after senior disappointment this season.

“It was a nice thing to still have a competition to be in. It’s tough. A lot of years you go from 100 miles an hour to nothing,” said O’Donnell.

“So it’s nice to have the U21s to go back to. We had a bit of success with the U21s, so it is a real boost,” continued the defender, who was a part of the Leinster championship winning team that upset three-in-a-row winners Wexford en route to beating Offaly in the provincial decider.

“We’ve had a good run this year. We had three tough games; Wexford, Westmeath and Offaly,” said O’Donnell.

“But Galway are a very tough side. You saw how good they were at the weekend. They narrowly missed out on an All-Ireland final. And I think a lot of their players are overlapping. So they’ll be flying fit and ready to go on Saturday.”