INTER-COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

"It's claimed that the football qualifiers have become stale and need to be reviewed, but we must not forget they have served us well. Look at the how Wicklow and Sligo did this year. I'll hold my hand up on the question of having Division 4 teams in the qualifiers. I was against allowing them in, but Wicklow proved this year that, with proper coaching and motivation, they can make real progress.

"I'd be very wary of getting rid of the provincial system, even if it does limit what you can do with the qualifiers. People talk about an open draw, accompanied by qualifiers, but I doubt very much if, say, Monaghan drew Wexford in the first round of an open draw, you would get as big a crowd as for Monaghan v another Ulster team. Rivalry within provinces is still a great draw. The so-called Champions' League style has its drawbacks too.

"Granted, there's a degree of unfairness in the provincial championships, but is it enough to warrant scrapping them altogether in favour of a system which might not have the same public interest? I don't think so.

"As for hurling, I'd like to see the current system where Galway and Antrim play in Leinster given a proper chance. Since there are only around ten really strong contenders for the McCarthy Cup, breaking the provincial mould might have an appeal for some, but I can't see any appetite for tampering with the Munster Championship in particular. In fact, I can't see an appetite for interfering with the provincial championships in either code.''

WHAT HE'S HEARING FROM CLUBS....

"Christy (Cooney) and myself have been visiting clubs as part of the 'Ag Eisteacht' initiative. Christy has done more of them than me, but wherever we go the issues are largely the same."

These are ten areas of common concern.

• Dispersion of funds to clubs and counties. Where does the money go?
• Gaps in the provision of fixtures in the summer months.
• Too many players on county panels, leading to disruption of club fixtures.
• Potential for a designated two-week period in summer when holidays can be booked in the knowledge that fixtures will not be scheduled.
• Payment of managers: what are we doing about it?
• Assessment of referees.
• Rural clubs looking for help with bye-laws that are barriers to survival.
• La na gClub -- can we repeat it to build on the profile generated by clubs this year?
• Integration of ladies football and camogie organisations, nationally and locally.
• Club newsletter -- its value and methods of distribution.

DISCIPLINE

"I'm not saying things are perfect, but I thought the standard of discipline improved this year. The experimental rules weren't accepted, but they encouraged debate about what happens on the pitch. We still have an onus to make sure that the late tackle and taking a player out off the ball are eradicated.

We had far fewer disciplinary cases going to the DRA this year and hopefully, that will continue. I'd like to see the current disciplinary system allowed to bed down for a few years and then we can decide if it's the best method or if, for instance, we have too many disciplinary tiers.

On a specific issue, there may be a case for allowing CCCC to intervene directly where they feel an incident wasn't y dealt with on match day. Asking a referee to review it can be a bit unfair."

THE CLOSED SEASON

"I still believe that November and December should be free of inter-county games and training. Players need their break. Do we want to go back to teams training on St Stephen's morning?''

THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

"The biggest challenge we face is giving more regular games to club players. If players are not getting enough games, we'll lose them -- it's as simple as that.

"On a different front, the changed economic circumstances are throwing down all sorts of challenges to people, but they are responding with real spirit. There's an incredible commitment among clubs to drive things forward -- I think there's more work going on in clubs now than ever before.''

THE DAY HE ASKED HIMSELF: "HOW ON EARTH ARE WE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS?''

"The morning after the last U2 concert in Croke Park last July Peter McKenna (Croke Park Stadium Director) rang to tell me that there were still protests outside the ground. Some residents around the area were unhappy with certain things and now we were facing a problem with the schedule for laying the new pitch in time for the following Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-finals.

"It was all incredibly tight and a serious delay would have left Croke Park unavailable which would have been a disaster.

"At one stage I was thinking: 'how on earth are we going to get through this,' but we did, thanks to the great work of several people. We were criticised for running such a tight schedule, but it made sense from a commercial viewpoint because we saved a lot of money by re-laying the pitch as some of the costs were borne by the concert organisers."

CROKE PARK INVASIONS

"It's still an issue which has to be taken on. The only concern is safety. It's a responsibility we are charged with and we have to take it seriously. I'd admit we didn't handle it very well this year because we were too late in starting the campaign to alert the public to our plans to end the invasions, but we must continue with it. Whatever about the past or tradition, safety demands that we can't allow invasions to continue."

Irish Independent