Jim Gavin’s departure took most of the Dublin team by surprise but also galvanised the players for 2020, according to Jack McCaffrey.
Gavin, along with Dublin selector Declan Darcy and forwards coach Jason Sherlock, announced their departure in November last year from the All-Ireland champions’ coaching team.
McCaffrey was speaking to Off The Ball and explained that while it was an emotional time it has re-energised the team for the year ahead.
“Yeah, I’m one of those that it did [take me by surprise]. Most of us were taken by surprise.
“For him and for Declan [Darcy] and for Jason [Sherlock] it’s a huge decision to make on a personal level and I think they just took their time to make sure they were 100% sure it was the way they wanted to go.
“Once they did they - as they always have been with us - were completely honest and upfront and let us know. So it was an interesting couple of days. I suppose initially you were quite sad.
“Yeah, I would have [gotten quite emotional]. Outside of my immediate family, in the last seven years, they’ve been the most important people in my life. It’s a bit sad to admit but it was certainly an emotional day or two.
“We met up for a few drinks that night and swapped stories a bit. There was probably 48 hours of that,” McCaffrey said.
'It galvanised us as a group'
Former U21 Dublin football manager Dessie Farrell is taking the reins at the senior side and the All-Star is excited for the year ahead under the new management team.
“It very quickly kind of galvanised us as a group a bit, I think to look towards next year. It kind of started ticking the excitement a little bit earlier than it might otherwise have.
“While that was a challenging time for us it’s kind of set us up - well I hope it’s really set us up well for next year and really giving it a good go under Dessie,” McCaffrey commented.
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