After last year's semi-final defeat against Donegal, there was plenty of speculation linking Dublin footballer Alan Brogan with retirement.
But the 32-year-old made his inter-county return in a challenge match against Galway recently, scoring four points, and although he admits that the idea of retirement had made room for itself in his head, he told Off The Ball that he hopes one more year will end up being worth the effort.
"It was in my mind. You always think as the years go by, do I have this left in me again, particularly with a busy family life and a job and do I have the time to really get myself to a level where I can compete? I just have to manage my time as best I can to make sure I am getting the time to get to the gym and eating properly. If Dublin win an All-Ireland at the end of September it might be worth it," he told Joe and Colm 'Wooly' Parkinson.
Dublin’s Alan Brogan with his son Jamie after the Donegal game ©INPHO/James Crombie
"In my mind after last year didn't end up the way we planned it, I had a think about [retirement] over the Christmas and it was in the back of my mind that I'd give it one more go. But my wife was having a baby at the start of March, so I suppose that was the most important thing coming after Christmas. Once we got that out of the way and got a few weeks just to get ourselves back together, I was always keen to get back into it."
Stylistically, he does not think there will be "wholesale changes" to Dublin's approach and style under Jim Gavin this season after the chastening defeat to Donegal.
He also added that he is not coming back to sit on the bench and has every intention of forging a starting place for himself.
"I've come back to play as much as I can, not to sit on the bench," he said. "If I thought I was coming back to sit on the bench, I probably wouldn't have come back. That could happen and if that happens, I'll be okay with that. But I'm coming back to try and get back into the team."
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