Refreshing approach, here.
Kilmacud Crokes had three players – Cian O’Sullivan, Paul Mannion and Andrew McGowan – in with the Dublin senior football panel, and quite a few involved with the U20s and minors. Robbie Brennan is used to playing without some of his brightest lights.
Brennan has led Kilmacud to a Dublin Senior Football Championship and is hoping to deliver Leinster success too, but he was not about to rush one of his very best players back in heedless pursuit of glory.
The Crokes joint manager spoke with Conan Doherty on The GAA Hour this week about his team’s journey in 2018 and [from 11:00 below] about giving leeway to Cian O’Sullivan for a big stag-do commtment he had made.
“The lads are so experienced and there for so long now,” said Brennan, “and Cian longer than Paul, but Paul has got to that stage where he has done it for long enough.
“Them coming back in is nothing new for them, to slip back into the system of what we are doing. I’ve said it a few times that they are brilliant when they come back in around the squad. Their influence is huge and, I suppose, you wouldn’t expect it any other way.
“When they’ve been as successful as they have been with Dublin, you’d expect that they’d come in and lead like that, but they are definitely a plus when they come back.”
O’Sullivan featured in the Dublin final win over st Jude’s but he missed the Leinster quarter final victory over Dunboyne.
“He had a stag for the Dunboyne game,” Brennan confirmed.
“Look, it was a tricky one for him – did he cancel the stag and maybe stay for the match, or did he not? He was carrying a slight little strain of the hamstring for that game. So maybe, when you weigh it all up, he has given so much to the county and the club.
“He probably felt this was something he had to do. If it was someone else’s stag he probably would have cancelled, but it was his own one so he probably couldn’t cancel and leave the rest of them out there in Spain having a jolly up.
“Look, he was brilliant and he got back in time for the game. He was never going to play against Dunboyne but it just showed where he is, and his leadership, that he wanted to get back to see how it goes and lend his influence on the day.”
Brennan had no issues with the Dublin and Crokes defender missing out on the knock-out clash as he had given so much to club and county over the previous months and years.
“It’s different nowadays. Guys give so much to it that when these things happen… Sometimes they do have a life outside of football – they need to be able to enjoy that as well.”
A heartening attitude from the Kilmacud boss.
