As speculation increases over whether Dessie Farrell will return as Dublin manager in 2023, Philly McMahon says that a new voice could be beneficial as the team continues to rebuild.
arrell’s three-year term ended after the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kerry, bringing a turbulent season to a close that saw Dublin relegated to Division Two while also pushing the eventual champions all the way in Croke Park.
It hasn’t been confirmed yet whether Farrell will look to stay on or if a new manager will be appointed, and speaking on The Throw-In podcast, Dublin legend McMahon says that a change on the sideline could help the team develop new stars.
“The benefit of maybe a new manager coming in is that Dublin are playing in Division Two next year,” McMahon said.
“That is the time to rebuild this squad. Say to the likes of James McCarthy, Jonny Cooper, Mick Fitzsimons and any other guys who could be thinking of stepping away, ‘I don’t want to see you for the first part of this league’.
“‘I want you on a separate programme and come the end of the league and the start of the championship, I want you getting involved with this group now heavily’. That gives a chance for the competitiveness of the squad to be developed.”
While McMahon thinks that Dessie Farrell – who won an All-Ireland title in 2020 after replacing Jim Gavin – is capable of overseeing the continued rebuild, he feels that there is a cohort of players who haven’t hit their full potential under the current management team.
“Dessie could do that [rebuild] as well but there are definitely players there who haven’t played hugely and have been there for three or four seasons and I’m not sure if the management team is getting enough out of those players.”
