Mickey Graham welcomes 'common sense' approach to Tailteann Cup

Cavan manager Mickey Graham: 'With no Tailteann Cup or no backdoor there this year, the knock-out made it a wee bit more competitive.'

Cavan manager Mickey Graham has welcomed the Tailteann Cup reprieve handed to them as Ulster champions and claimed that rerouting them to a tier two competition next year would have damaged the Championship's credibility.

The GAA confirmed on Monday that the eligibility criteria for next year's inaugural Tailteann Cup campaign have changed with the 2020 provincial winners now exempt from that competition.

The original agreement was that teams finishing in Division 3 and 4 of the National League would be redirected to the Tailteann Cup instead of the All-Ireland qualifiers once they exited their province, unless they reached a provincial final.

Those terms have been amended for 2021 to guarantee that the reigning provincial title holders avoid the Tailteann Cup, regardless of their league status.

It doesn't affect Leinster champions Dublin, a Division 1 team, but it is a major boost to Ulster champions Cavan and to Munster winners Tipperary as both counties will begin 2021 in Division 3.

There's a slim chance that the ruling could also benefit 2020 All-Ireland runner up Mayo as they could potentially be relegated to Division 3 ahead of next year's Championship.

GAA Director of Player, Club and Games Administration Feargal explained on Monday that while it's a temporary derogation for 2021, it has been recommended that this aspect of Tailteann Cup eligibility be made permanent.

"We did also recommend to Central Council that a more long-term change be made there as well, that teams who are reigning provincial champions would stay in the (following season's) Sam Maguire Cup," stated McGill.

Graham said that from his perspective it was the 'obvious' course of action to keep Cavan and Tipp in the Championship proper for 2021.

"I think it would have affected the credibility of the whole thing if the provincial champions weren't there in the full Championship next year," said Graham. "For me, the GAA used common sense there and made the obvious decision.

"I'd heard a whisper that it might happen but it was only this week that I realised it was official and I just feel it gives a bit of credibility to next year's Championship.

"What happened this year, no more than with ourselves, just showed that any team can beat any team and having those sorts of surprises and teams going on unexpected runs gave the whole thing great excitement.

"I would wonder is the Tailteann Cup going to harm teams' ambitions going forward in that regard. Because if you ask any player what they want to play for, they'll say it's the Sam Maguire Cup.

No matter what county they're from, that's still their ambition. When you take away that status then I do wonder if you're going to see some of the ambition of these teams draining a little bit.

Cavan and Tipp thrived under the knock-out format of this year's Championship and recorded first provincial wins since 1997 and 1935 respectively.

Cork shocked Kerry too while 2018 All-Ireland finalists Tyrone fell at the first hurdle against Donegal.

"With no Tailteann Cup or no backdoor there this year, the knock-out made it a wee bit more competitive," said Graham.

"It gave smaller teams the belief that if they could put it together for one day then they could knock a big team out, and they'd stay out.

"In the past, if Kerry were beaten like that down in Munster they could have easily come through the qualifiers and still ended up in the All-Ireland final. Tyrone were masters of coming through the back door as well and that was the beauty of the knock-out this year, it put a wee bit more pressure on the bigger teams I think."

Cavan lost a number of players ahead of the 2020 season including former captain Dara McVeety and 2019 All-Star nominee Conor Moynagh who went travelling.

Inter-county teams can resume training from January 15 though Graham said he has nothing to report just yet on potential returning players or, likewise, possible retirements.

"We're still working through all of that," said the former Cavan forward. "We have to review our panel after Christmas and we'll see where we stand then. We'll make our decisions from there."