DIARMUID CONNOLLY is backing Ger Brennan for the Dublin job.
Connolly’s St. Vincent’s clubmate is the red hot favourite for the gig after stepping down as Louth boss last week.
Brennan led the Wee County to their first Leinster title in 68 years this summer, and quit the post just three days after Dessie Farrell vacated the Dublin hotseat.
Connolly would love to see his old pal get the nod – but insists whoever gets it needs to scour the capital for new talent after their limp All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Tyrone.
He said: “Gerry’s a really good man manager. He’s always with a smile on his face. I doubt he’d be overawed by the job at all.
“He’s the sort of guy that can walk in anywhere and fill the room. Even talking to guys that are out working with him in UCD and stuff, he’s a really good guy to have around.
“He’s a good motivator too. That Louth team hadn’t won in a long few years. He brought them to success. I thought it was a bit leftfield, maybe leaving so early.
“Look, if he’s the man for the job, I think everybody should get behind him.”
Connolly knows Brennan would be a great fit for the hotseat, but admits there are plenty of candidates who might fancy it.
The seven-time All-Ireland winner says no matter who gets the nod needs to scour the county for new talent – and insists the Dubs have not gone away.
He said: “To be honest, from looking in from the outside, there wasn’t any underage managers coming through that you’d say, ‘Oh yeah, he’s nailed on.’
“So yeah, you’d have to look to Ger Brennan in that sense, because he had success at the level we’re talking about.
“For me, probably Robbie Brennan would have been front and centre in that conversation. I know Dec Darcy has been put in the loop, Johnny Cooper has been put in the loop.
“Ger looks like, the rumour on the ground is that he has first refusal on the job, but I don’t know if that’s actually true. I haven’t spoke to the man myself, so I don’t know whether that’s true or not.
“It’s very easy to jump on the bandwagon and say Dublin are finished – they’re on the decline, they’re this, that and the other.
“The next manager slash coaching team that come in, will hopefully throw the net far and wide in Dublin GAA circles.
“I know the players that are in that Dublin camp. I know the players that are playing club football in Dublin and there is serious talent there.”
