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Peter Creedon says it must be football only if the Tipperary senior team is to progress. Donall Farmer/INPHO
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'Fellas will have to play nothing but football and park everything else' - Creedon

Departing Tipperary football boss has a message for dual players.

PETER CREEDON STEPPED down as manager of the Tipperary senior footballers yesterday with a message for players in the county who continue to harbour hopes of fulfilling a dual mandate.

The Cork native insists that combining both codes cannot be done if the Tipperary senior footballers want to progress to the next level.

Colin O’Riordan played the full hour for the U21 hurlers against Limerick on Thursday night, before lining out again yesterday for the footballers.

And key midfielder Steven O’Brien wasn’t moving at full tilt after damaging his hamstring in a recent U21 challenge against Galway.

David McCarthy is beaten by Colin O'Riordan Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

And Creedon insisted that it must be football, and football only, if Tipp are to emerge as a senior force capable of competing with the best.

“The likes of Tyrone, Kerry and the top football teams, that’s their sole concentration so going forward we have a mix of players in colleges, club hurling and all that.

“It’s not an excuse for today but going forward it’s something we have to do to maintain the players energies a little bit better, so we can work on their fitness and conditioning.”

For his successor, Creedon believes that gaining promotion from Division 3 of the Allianz Football League next year is the big priority – but that comes with a caveat.

“Absolutely…and fellas will have to play nothing but football and park everything else.”

Explaining that work commitments have played a huge part in his decision to step down, after four championship seasons in charge, Creedon admitted that “it might be no harm to have a fresh voice.”

He said: “I have ten our twelve years done between minor, under 21 and senior. We have four good years put into it.

“I’m starting a new job now as a principal of a big school (in Cahir).

“It might be no harm to have a fresh voice. I was lucky to have a brilliant management team, my job was to ensure we didn’t feck it up!

Peter Creedon lines up with the players for the national anthem Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO

“We have had some brilliant memories.

“It’s like being involved with an under 12 team in your local club, it’s the bit of craic among the mentors, it’s the bit of banter in the dressing room when you win and a few losses along the way, that’s what I really enjoyed.

“We had a great bunch of players, to see guys rushing out of work in Dublin to get on the train down to training and making those huge sacrifices.

“There’s great credit due to the top teams because they are working incredibly hard to maintain their standards.”

‘I just can’t handle refereeing decisions like that any longer. I have had to step down’

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