Eamon Fitzmaurice reckons Dublin could be affected by the the transition from Jim Gavin to Dessie Farrell this year.
Former Dublin boss Gavin ran a far too well-oiled machine for anyone to assume that the handover would be frictionless, regardless of Farrell’s credentials, says the former Kerry boss.
The ex-Kerry manager said: “I think it’s a factor for sure.
“I think the job that Jim Gavin did was incredible.
“I think first of all as a coach and as a group of coaches, I think himself Declan Darcy and Jason Sherlock were at a serious level in terms of their coaching ability and I think the way he managed it then and he managed to keep them hungry and he managed to transition players in and out and he managed to keep them humble.
"You’d struggle to think of examples in any sport where a team have stayed so hungry and humble for so long.
“Dessie Farrell is obviously highly qualified for the job and he’ll bring his own style but he certainly has big shoes to fill.”
Last month, Fitzmaurice revealed that Gavin would engage in some verbal sparring with former Kerry team runner Liam Hassett on the sideline, though he was reluctant to elaborate on that yesterday.
“You don't have that kind of success unless you have a serious strong personality yourself and unless you have a big of edge about you and are willing to fight your point if you have to.
"He had a good way of doing it that was understated but he could get his point across.”
