Dublin captain insists Anthony Daly should stay on

In an exclusive interview, Hot Press talks to Dublin captain John McCaffrey about whether Daly will stay on as Dublin manager, his ambition's for next year – and his predictions regarding the outcome of this year's All Ireland final.

You must have had high hopes of reaching your first all-Ireland final?

We definitely thought we had a great chance. With Kilkenny, Tipp and Galway gone it was definitely open for us and any of the four teams left. Hopefully we'll be back there again.

Looking back now, what did you think of the match?

The sending off of Ryan O'Dwyer was quite harsh. In particular, the first yellow card was very harsh especially when it was so early on in the game. It's normal things like that happen at the beginning of games and usually the ref gives a warning and says 'next time, you're booked'.

So you're saying it wasn't a sending off then?

No, it was harsh. It definitely was a factor in the result. It came at a crucial time in the game – I think it was level. It was only when they got the goal with 5 mins to go that it really looked as if they were going to go on and win it. However we still had plenty of chances.

There were some very questionable decisions this year – do you think referees can ruin games?

Not really... they are probably handing out a lot more yellows nowadays than they did in the past but it is up to players and teams to adjust to that. There are other factors in the game – small little breaks of a ball and missed chances that lead to the result of the match. It wasn’t just about one moment.

The game against Cork has been described as one of the best hurling matches this year.

Its different when you are out playing. You are caught up in the moment: you are not observing what’s going on, just playing every ball that comes. I remember the first half it was real end to end – as soon as we got a score, they went down and got a score. It was probably great for a neutral to look at that and it was great to play in – but every time we scored the momentum swung straight back to them. We needed to break their momentum, and we didn't. It was a great occasion – 62,000 is the biggest attendance at a Dublin hurling game since 1961 and the atmosphere was unbelievable.

Do you think Anthony Daly will stay on now as Dublin manager?

From the players point of view, we would all like him to stay and have another crack at it next year. He is a great man-to-man manager. He gets on really well with people, he knows how to deal with certain issues that arise from such a large team. Obviously having 32-33 different characters on a team or in a squad, you are not going to have everyone singing off the same hymn sheet. But he has a great rapport with people and very good backroom staff.

I read about him having a unique style of training...

He brings a fun element into the dressing room and although he can be very serious when things have to be done, he is also very good at telling stories. He is the kind of character who has players hanging on every word that he says and he’s good at having the craic. He has a great way of bringing people together at training, because he always has something different to say.

How would you compare him to other managers, across all sports?

If I compare him to Giovanni Trapatonni, well, I suppose the fact that he speaks English is a big help (laughs). Anthony Daly is probably the best manager I played under, ever. We've had him for 5 years in Dublin and I suppose we are very lucky to have him for that long. A lot of players would say what they want out of a manager is fairness and to be straight down the middle – and that’s what you will get from him.

It is a pity that there are so few counties playing at the top level of hurling?

Definitely. Hurling needs more, let's say, "weaker counties" at the top. Five to ten years ago, Dublin would have been perceived as a weaker team: we started at the bottom and got our underage structures right and made sure we had talent coming through and that I believe is the key for any county to make the breakthrough and to progress like we did.

It does reduce the level of public interest.

In football you have 32 counties playing at a good level and in hurling only 12 counties can really win the Liam McCarthy cup. If there were money put into the weaker counties and better structures and coaches – anything can happen really in a county that really wants to go and do it. It's up to the county boards.

Do you think GAA players should get paid?

No I don't think I would be a fan of actually getting paid. I would be a fan of being looked after – nobody should be out of pocket for playing. Most lads who are playing are doing it because they enjoy it. I love hurling and it is a great pastime. I's nearly at a professional level with training so much and all the off the field stuff that you do to get yourself ready, but I still love it.

Are Dublin a model for other county boards?

We are very lucky in Dublin that we have a very good County Board that looks after us very well. Anything that we're looking for, or anything the management are looking for, we are generally given, I think that should be spread out over all the counties because there is so much commitment given at inter county level by the players. All that GAA players want is to be made sure they will be looked after and not left in the dark. Every player that plays is entitled to expenses, dinners after training, hot showers and equipment. I think that is important that everyone is equal in that regard.

What did you think of the RTE pundit Joe Brolly's infamous outburst about Sean Cavanagh?

Initially he seemed to be having a go at Sean Cavanagh personally. I suppose what he is trying to get at is that there is a lot of cynicism going on in the game and a lot of dragging down – and that is true. So he has highlighted that and brought it to people's attention and so there could be a bit of good that will come out of it. Now the fact that he made it a bit personal probably wasn't the right way to go about it. I do think he stepped over the line a little bit.

Does that cynicism extend into hurling?

Yeah that definitely does happen in hurling. Every county is doing it. Every club team is doing it. It is just part of the game. They have tried to take it out of football by bringing in the black card. However I don’t think cynical fouling affects hurling as much, you can generally still get your shot away. There aren’t so many rugby tackles as we have seen in the football this year (laughs).

Are there any young stars coming through the Dublin ranks?

On our panel we have the likes of Danny Sutcliffe who has done extremely well both this year and last year. Eamon Dillon and young Chris Crummey, who is from
Lucan as well – he is going to be a big star. He has a great temperament and knows how to manage the game. There are other great lads out there, who have been on minor and under 21 squads for the last couple of years and that are itching to get on the panel in the future.

What lessons have you learned from this year?

When the dust settles, this year will be history. It’s a new year next year and you have to start from scratch again and build it back up to get where you want to be. You can learn from experiences and use them in a positive way – but they aren’t going to help you do your stuff on the pitch. You are still going to have to work as hard and play as hard.

Where do you stand on Hawkeye especially after the malfunction?

I think it is a great initiative, especially in Croke Park where you have the big screens: there is no reason why it shouldn’t be used. It makes sense in hurling – the ball is so small and it goes so fast, there is bound to be human error with the umpires. I think it is a great way to make sure there are no disputed scores in points.

Critics of the hurling say it can be too easy to score points. Do you think we should make a rule where the ball can't go higher than the posts to make it a bit harder to score?

I'd disagree with that, I don’t think it is easy to score points. Anyway it would be very hard to police and rule that it had to go at a certain height – so I really couldn’t see that happening.

Blunt question: do you think this year marks the end of Kilkenny's dominance in the game?

Oh no, I think they will definitely be back. They had a very good league campaign and I think they will have a massive say in what will happen next year.

There was uproar over the sending off of Henry Shefflin in the Kilkenny game against Cork. Did you think it was a sending off?

It was definitely very harsh. The two yellows looked very harsh and definitely had a massive bearing on the game, having to play the whole second half with 14 men. At half time, Cork had the chance to assess how they could exploit the free man. It definitely had a bearing on the result of that quarter final.

Who is your sports idol?

Tiger Woods. Just think of all the major championships he has won.

Speaking of Tiger, is there a privacy issue for sports stars?

With social networking sites being very prominent, you have to be very careful what’s said. GAA stars are careful about what we say on Twitter – or they should be.

What did you make of the recent rugby sex scandal and it
getting sent around the Internet and Twitter so fast?

It’s easily done – it only takes one person to screen shot it and it can go viral on the web. I think its unfortunate for the people involved and they obviously didn't want it to come out that way. It shows the power of the internet and what can happen if you are not careful.

Should more be done to protect sports stars?

It is news that people want to read. People want to know what’s happening in your private life and they want to find out anything they can. It's not any of our business but again its so easy to get out there now that it's hard to stop it.

Some GAA players follow other sport stars and abstain from sex before
matches? What do you think?

(Laughs) No not really, it’s your own personal choice.

What does Daly say about it?

(Laughs) He leaves it up to each individual and lets you decide.

Can Dublin ever win the McCarthy cup?

Hopefully. That’s the aim. There is a lot of hard work, and it is about taking each stage as it comes. The next stage is to get over the Cork defeat – we need to get the hunger and desire back. I think the talent is there, it’s a matter of bringing it all together for a whole year.

Who do you think will win in the Hurling All Ireland Final, Cork or Clare?

I think it is really open. The fact that Cork have that extra week could give them a slight advantage. However there will be big talk about Clare, 'cause it is a big deal for them. It will be 50/50 – but after seeing Cork and the way they played against us you would give them a slight advantage. They have good lively forwards, their backs are very strong and tight. Any opposition forwards will not get space; they have a good solid all-round team. I think they'll edge it.