Conal Keaney hopes big name will help Dublin hurling

Conal Keaney has been pained to watch the Dublin hurlers sink to a level where they have been “laughed at” but the former dual star believes a big-name managerial appointment would soon turn things around.

Dublin claimed historic National League and Leinster Championship titles under Anthony Daly but the revival of the code in the capital hit a wall with Ger Cunningham’s three-year reign when a host of players disappeared from the panel and form dipped.

Some players, like Keaney and Danny Sutcliffe, walked voluntarily. Others were relieved of their duties.

The priority now is to find the right man capable of resurrecting those fading fortunes; some interesting names have been mentioned.

Given his previous successes with the county, it’s no surprise that Daly’s name has been bandied around. Keaney believes a man with that kind of drawing power would persuade some of those who called time to think again.

“Anyone like Anthony, or someone with a profile like that, is probably what Dublin need at the minute,” he said yesterday.

“Dublin hurling is probably at a low ebb after the last couple of years. It’s not a true reflection of where Dublin are.

“It’s just from one thing or another, players dropping off, getting dropped, a bad atmosphere around the place. It just wasn’t good the last couple of years. It’s not going to take a whole lot to get it back but it needs a big manager to come in and galvanise the squad.”

Keaney is adamant that a Dublin hurling team with the right management would attract the best players available. Do that, he claimed, and the county won’t be far off competing for the game’s major honours again.

He won’t be for turning himself, though. Keaney is 34 now and, while he is still turning out for Ballyboden St Enda’s, he quickly shot down suggestions that he could make a return to the inter-county scene after giving so long to both the Dublin footballers and hurlers.

Whoever gets the nod, this next step is critical. Dublin hurling has already lost three valuable years and a whole pile of momentum but Keaney believes the county’s station in Division 1B of the league next spring might be a help.

Though Galway will be bedfellows, there will be a number of other games offering more gentle workloads as building block are put in place. It may actually be that relegation this season proves to be a blessing in disguise after the disappointments of recent times.

“For the talent that was there, it is very frustrating to look at it,” said Keaney. “To know that Dublin are better than this.

“The players know they’re better than that. The core of Dublin hurling know we’re a lot better than that. To be pretty much laughed at now all over the country, it’s pretty disappointing where we are at the minute.

“I don’t think it’s huge step to turn it around but they need to get it right from the word go and things can change very quickly.”