Brian Kerr has revealed that he helped Jim Gavin hire a goalkeeping coach and that Gavin wanted his help with Dublin tactics.
Kerr spoke about a situation last year where the former Dubs boss looked to get a tactical advantage by using Kerr's knowledge of the game and his book of contacts.
"He rang me wanting to talk tactics one time, to meet him and have a talk on some tactical stuff," said Kerr.
"I said that I find it difficult enough to be clear when it is 11 against 11 on a pitch that is about 40% smaller than the pitch [the Dubs] play on.
"He wanted me to talk about the movement of 15 against 15 with ten subs; I didn't think that I would have much to add to it. We had a bit of a laugh and a bit of a joke.
"He also asked me about going to watch clubs at a high level in England as well. It just goes to show you how his mind worked in that openness to other sports and other games. He studies basketball as well."
Jim Gavin & Brian Kerr
Jim Gavin was looking for high-level clubs to study, and tried to employ Kerr in doing so.
"He was making it easy for me - he wanted to get him into Liverpool when it wasn't exactly going for Liverpool; they were just trying to win the Champions League at the time!
"I called Richie Partridge, who works as a physio there, and it almost worked out - it didn't quite in the end.
"It just goes to show the lengths that some coaches will go to to try and get a bit of an edge in the end."
Kerr also spoke about improving the goalkeeping situation for Gavin with a recommended coach.
"I didn't know him well, but I had a few discussions with him about a goalkeeping coach.
"Jim rang me a few years ago - I had met him at a few different dinners - and I knew that he had a bit of a love for soccer as well as the GAA.
"I was thinking as the conversation went on whether he wanted someone to work with Stephen Cluxton or the younger goalkeepers.
"I recommended someone for him, but also understood that it wasn't going to be easy because of the quality of the staff that he already had behind him.
"Fortunately, it worked out - I was able to recommend Josh Moran who was a very good League of Ireland goalkeeper in his time.
"I think it has worked out reasonably well."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
