Dublin hurler Niall Corcoran. Pic: Sportsfile

But Niall Corcoran, for one, is delighted an agreement has almost been reached between the Clareman and the Dublin County Board.

“We haven’t been talking to Anthony,” the veteran Kilmacud Crokes defender told the Herald. “It’s left up to the county board to deal with it.

“Obviously, it’s great news if he is on board but the players haven’t had any contact yet. Hopefully there will be in the next couple of weeks.

“I’m sure Anthony had to sort out some issues at home. It’s a long way from Clare to Dublin. There was probably a bit of unfinished business there with Dublin and Anthony Daly. It was hard to see him walking away.”

The players — many of whom spent the second half of the summer in America — have been in the dark since their disappointing All-Ireland exit to Clare in Ennis back in June but the lull in information has, according to Corcoran, been understandable.

“You’d be swapping bits of gossip with the boys but it’s been fairly hush hush,” he explained.

“After the year we’ve had, there has been a lot of soul-searching from players and management so from that point of view, if you want to go back into it, you have be sure you want to go back into it and you have to be sure of the changes that need to be made for next year.”

Chairman Andy Kettle hinted at widespread changes to the team next year, although he didn’t specify whether those heading for the exit door were part of the playing panel or Daly’s backroom team — or both.

 

Overhaul

Corcoran is reluctant to speculate as to where the changes may come but says there has, in Daly’s four-year term, already been a major overhaul.

“Since Anthony came in, there has been a turnover of around 18 players and that’s huge,” he says. “Maybe a couple of the minors from this year and a couple of the 21s could make the step up and that would be great. I’ve never been involved in such a professional setup. If there is a change, that’s obviously Anthony’s decision.”

Reflecting on a season which constituted a major backward step, Corcoran conceded: “To be honest, maybe the same bite wasn’t there. Maybe the same attitude wasn’t there. We trained very hard this year but that killer instinct wasn’t there.

“I think that’s up to players to look at why that wasn’t the case. Look at Donegal and what they did last year and they came back hungrier this year and now they’re in a final.

“There is no reason why we shouldn’t be like that.”

– Conor McKeon- Evening Herald