GAELIC GAMES:Despite the intercounty manager summit in Mullingar this Sunday evening, GAA President Nickey Brennan is adamant the introduction of new match regulations for next year's National League will remain unaltered. Gavin CummiskeyReports

Speaking at the announcement of the TG4 documentary on Gaelic Games and racing commentator Micheál O'Hehir, which is to be shown on Christmas Day, Brennan said: "We won't be changing the regulations. I can tell you that much. We certainly will be interested in getting feedback during the league.

"We'll hear what they have to say, absolutely. After matches we're happy to get (the manager's) views on his county's performance, the referee's performance and so forth. We're very open in that regard.

"But the reality is we have to run the games for the overall association. Nobody can tell me that everything was hunky-dory on the sidelines over the past year or few months. There have been some very serious incidents and they've contributed to a lot of problems. We just have a responsibility to clean up our act."

A December stand-off, with the leading football and hurling managers in one corner and Central Council in the other, is not how the GAA envisioned what is usually the only quiet month in a packed calendar.

Yet, last weekend's introduction of trial rules to contain managers' traditional wanderings down the line and confine selectors to the stands - allied to a restriction of certain personnel in the dugout and a new "runner" system to relay information to players - has sparked Sunday's unique gathering.

Several managers have criticised the new rules - including Clare hurling's Tony Considine and Westmeath football's Tomás Ó Flatharta - some arguing this could have been avoided if the GAA hierarchy had involved them in the thought process before any new departure went to Central Council.

Brennan contested this assertion.

"First of all, we wrote to the counties," he said. "We got replies in from four or five counties. We asked the counties to consult with their managers.

"We got feedback from one manager and that's all. I'm not saying who it was. That was taken into account in terms of drafting a final set of documents. We're also conscious that some time back managers expressed the notion of a runner, which we have acceded to.

"We're quite adamant here that there have been far too many people on sidelines for club and county matches."

The runner system does not wash with Considine, nor does the absence of his new management team during his first stint as an intercounty manager.

"I don't know who is coming up with these rules," said the new Clare manager. Hurling is a very, very fast game and to not be able to consult with my selectors could be disruptive. The stands are for supporters. The selectors are with the team all week in training so confining them to the stand makes no sense. Regarding the runner, we just got rid of the Australian game and yet we are adopting their ways."

Brennan did make some valid points in defence of the selectors no longer being allowed an official role on the line: "Bear in mind you have the manager on the sideline, the runner can be one of the selectors and, with communication aids today, it's not that difficult to keep in touch with different people.

"We'll simply have to bring some order to the situation. Just look at any of the matches that have gone on during the year and look at the number of people on the sideline. You don't have to be a genius to answer the question of why we have had to take some action.

"And it's even worse in the club games, because there have been some incidents that could have really got out of hand big time."

As a manager and selector in his native Kilkenny, Brennan appreciates the frustrations of not being able to relay information to a player during a game: "It's impossible to get word to people on the field. I'm very surprised that there's been little talk about the runner and the impact it will make. This is something they've been crying out for for a long time. Lo and behold, we give it and there's something else they've been talking about."

In a hard-hitting report ahead of Saturday's county convention, Carlow secretary Tommy O'Neill has said officials and team managers must lead the way in the fight to rid the GAA of the indiscipline that is becoming rife in football and hurling.

The Tinryland clubman, who will continue in the position, having been unopposed, has warned that the county board will "bite the bullet" and come down heavily on those who cross the line in terms of what is acceptable on the field.

"Officials and team managers have major responsibility to enforce that discipline and maintain it, even if decisions are going against them.

"It is not a luxury - it is an essential. How can any team have success if instead of concentrating on games and getting scores, it is involved in settling old scores or in other non-sporting activities? There can be no ambivalence; we must bite the bullet and insist on proper discipline."