GAELIC GAMES NEWS: IF INDICATIONS from Thursday's Clare county convention are anything to go by, and they are, the fallout from the hurlers' push to remove Mike McNamara and his management, while successful, has created an animosity between the players and county board.

“In real terms players should play, managers should manage and administrators should administrate,” wrote long-serving secretary Pat Fitzgerald in his report to convention.

“That is not to say that players should not have an input into the decision-making process that effects (sic) their playing careers.”

The first task for new manager Ger “Sparrow” O’Loughlin, appointed on a two-year term, will be to dissolve this tension and integrate the All-Ireland-winning under-21 players into his panel in 2010.

Fitzgerald was particularly opinionated about the manner in which the whole process was dragged through the media on a daily basis – an unavoidable occurrence once the intercounty season concluded and it became apparent a genuine player–management rift existed.

“Mike Mac owes Clare hurling nothing, neither does Alan Cunningham or Ollie Baker and a much less confrontational and acrimonious approach should have been adopted,” said Fitzgerald.

Baker was quoted in the media this week attacking certain players’ discipline throughout the season, noting the only major change the management made was to enforce a stricter code of conduct

In theory the situation appears to have calmed but the players’ disorganised handling of the whole conflict has been heavily criticised even within the county.

“The players may have had complaints with aspects of his management, but what real efforts were made to directly engage with him to thrash those out?” Fitzgerald continued in unconfined support of the man who was part of the Ger Loughnane management team that delivered two All-Ireland titles in 1995 and 1997.

McNamara’s predecessor Tony Considine, another former Loughnane lieutenant, also departed in acrimonious circumstances in 2007.

“I am a firm believer in keeping the lid on internal sensitive issues,” Fitzgerald continued.

“I feel that they should be dealt with in-house, in a private and confidential fashion and that such matters should be prevented, at all costs, from reaching the public domain.

“However, I believe the manner in which the current situation has manifested itself is a source of embarrassment and regret to all the genuine GAA followers in our county. I only hope we will never again experience a similar scenario in the future.”

However, Fitzgerald continued to warn against player power becoming a repetitive occurrence in Clare.

“Player revolt is a potentially explosive issue, just like it was in Cork a few years ago, and, in all truth, player power cannot dictate. Certainly, they can have a voice but their input cannot be the final dictate as regards policy and decision making. All decision making has to the have the imprimatur of the delegates and the clubs they represent”.

The situation in Limerick now has the potential to mirror Cork’s strike last season after Justin McCarthy received a vote of confidence, 70 to 54, from the club delegates also on Thursday evening.

The players have yet to react publicly but as it stands 12, mostly senior, hurlers have been cut from the 2009 panel, while another eight stood down in support of their dropped colleagues.

Gilroy casts net wide as Dublin continue the search for fresh talent

DUBLIN manager Pat Gilroy certainly cannot be criticised for failing to scour every inch of the county for the talent required to challenge the elite forces within Gaelic football, writes Gavin Cummiskey .

A rookie season that started promisingly ultimately saw a return to the tried and tested for the heavy defeat, 1-24 to 1-7, to eventual champions Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Today and tomorrow, out in Innisfails GAA club, five regional teams gathered from 147 nominations will compete in a round-robin competition designed to unearth some fresh quality for the 2010 panel.

The majority of last year's panel are not involved due to the "intercounty moratorium" the GAA insists upon in November and December.

There are exceptions, like promising O'Toole's midfielder Eamonn Fennell, who missed most of the previous campaign through injury, lining out for north Dublin and Dean Rock, son of Barney, named on the Colts panel.

Rock only broke into the senior set-up at the tail end of last summer.

Another interesting selection that will furrow the brow of hurling manager Anthony Daly is the inclusion of his prized possession, Liam Rushe, in the west Dublin squad that is managed by Keith Barr.

South Dublin has no Kilmacud Crokes players but six inclusions from surprise county finalists St Jude's. Crokes are represented in the Colts panel by under-21 talent such as Barry O'Rorke and Rory O'Carroll, who started in the Leinster championship last June before leaving Ireland on holidays.

Matches start at 11am this morning and at noon tomorrow. Each game will last 40 minutes.