PAT GILROY SAID this week that he won’t decide on his future as Dublin boss until some time next month, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from cranking up.
Last night, the Marino man appeared on RTÉ’s Late Late Show alongside his All-Ireland winning team. And, despite his best efforts, Gilroy couldn’t quite side-step the inevitable questions on his managerial future.
“It’s one of those things,” he said, explaining why he has asked for a few weeks to mull things over.
There’s an awful lot of people who support me doing the job, particularly my wife and my family. Work in particular have been very good to me, so I need to spend time talking to them and figuring out things before I make any decisions.
Gilroy also appeared anxious to downplay his role in the team’s future prospects, saying “these are a brilliant bunch of guys and, with or without me, they’re going to do an awful lot.”
“Genuinely, these fellas are very self-motivated and they take very little management. I have to make decisions in other parts of my life. Irrespective of what I do, these guys are going to go on to greater things.”
Speculation surrounding Gilroy’s future increased earlier this week when selector Mickey Whelan decided to call time on his involvement with the senior inter-county team.
“I can’t see him staying on after Mickey Whelan stepping down,” former Dublin midfielder Johnny Magee conceded last night.
In today’s Irish Daily Star, Ciaran Whelan, another Dubs icon, admitted that Gilroy looks likely to walk away but urged the Dublin county board to hold on to their man if at all possible.
The rumour mill seems to think that Pat will go as well, which at the moment is not in the best interests of Dublin football because they need stability.
