Dubs hurler O'Dwyer: We failed Daly
Ryan O'Dwyer has come out in support of under-fire manager Anthony Daly, expressing his desire for the Clare man to remain in the Dublin hurling hotseat.
Daly has been in charge of the Dublin senior hurlers for the past four seasons, but the pressure has increased on him following relegation from Allianz League Division 1A and back-to-back Championship defeats to Kilkenny and Clare.
He was reappointed in September 2010 for another two seasons and was admittedly 'unsure' of his managerial future when speaking after last weekend's 1-16 to 0-16 loss to his native county.
Commenting in his latest Vodafone DubHub blog, O'Dwyer said: "I don't know what Dalo is going to do next. I only know how much I want him to stay on and from the players I’ve talked to they feel the same.
"As players we failed him in 2012 and we would like the chance to redeem that. Daly is a passionate man who hates losing as much if not more than the players.
"He has his own soul searching to do, like the players. But the fact is there has been progress made in Dublin. And it would be an awful way for him to end four years of effort here.
"He was proud to be Dublin manager and I think he’d like another crack at bringing the best out of this group of players. But he has his own life too and we have to respect his decision."
Tipperary-born forward O'Dwyer also apologised to Dublin fans for the Metropolitans' meek exit from the Championship, suggesting that the players need to look at themselves and learn from their disappointing 2012 season.
"There's nothing left to say, except to say sorry. Sorry to our loyal supporters who followed us all year and who we gave nothing to shout about.
"Sorry to the management and backroom team, to our legendary kit man Ray Finn, who'd be at training two hours before anyone else. We let everyone down, we let ourselves down and we really let Anthony Daly down.
"The 2012 season defies logic. It's the polar opposite of what happened last year and we have a lot of thinking and explaining to do as players.
"The thing is though, the buck has to stop with the players because we were the ones on the pitch and not the management. The coaches and training brings you to a point but then you cross the white line and you have to do it."
O'Dwyer made his Championship bow for the Dubs last summer, memorably scoring 3-2 against Limerick as they reached the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Championship.
But the 25-year-old was unable to inspire Daly's men this year. He explained that a bad run of results - their 2012 League and Championship record reads one win, two draws and seven defeats - contributed to a general loss of belief and confidence among the players.
"It's hard to think that we could have beaten Galway in the league relegation final and now they are Leinster champions and we are finished hurling for the year," admitted O'Dwyer.
"Looking back, the losing streak is what did the damage. We were still playing well enough but we weren’t winning and winning brings confidence and belief and I think the failure to get a few wins really knocked us.
"We played with a level of expectation we have never had before as Dublin hurlers and I also think this brought a fear of failure to our play. Instead of going out and just performing on the day, there was a sense we were afraid to lose."
