ANTHONY DALY REMAINS undecided about his Dublin future and has outlined how the pain of defeat in hurling is easier than the shame of not performing.
Daly filled the punditry role on ‘Off The Ball’ on Newstalk for yesterday’s All-Ireland semi-final and contrasted the post-match feeling for the defeated Limerick team to his own Dublin side who exited at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage.
“Give me that feeling that TJ (Ryan) has now any day compared to the feeling I had today fortnight. You’re ashamed a bit that you didn’t perform as a unit, backroom staff, players together. TJ has a feeling of ferocious pain now I’d say but the pain is easier than the shame in some ways you know.
“When you don’t perform at all, that’s the hardest one to take. But when you go out and give it everything, you might come up short, it’s easier to take though. Collectively when you don’t perform on the big stage, and you know your parents and clubmates are in the stand and they’re watching you being ripped apart, and the match is over with 20 minutes to go, that’s a hard feeling.”
Daly lauded the effort and dedication of his own Dublin players but is still toying with the decision of whether to stay on for the 2015 season.
“It’s certainly not me being ashamed of the players. That Dublin squad would go up the Sugarloaf at four o’clock in the morning, they’d do anything for you. Outside of Conal and Stephen Hiney and Dotsy, 13 of the starting 15 of the last match would all be the right side of 30.
“Okay losing a few fellas to football which is hard to take at times but we get on with it. We’ve great value in our lads and the real pride they have in being Dublin hurlers. We honour that completely.
“We lost two semi-finals with Clare and I quit after the second one. I felt it was the right time to walk away. Now I’m still trying to make up my mind is it the right time to walk away or not.”
