PAUL MANNION SAYS he does not plan on returning to the Dublin footballers in 2022, as he hopes to regain his fitness in time for Kilmacud Crokes’ Leinster final.

It’s almost a year since the three-time All-Star Mannion stepped away from the county panel, with Dublin GAA saying in a statement at the time that he was opting out “for now.”

However, the six-time All-Ireland winner wants to extend his break a little longer and continue committing himself solely to the club.

“I’ve told the lads that I don’t plan on it now,” Mannion begins when asked about his Dublin future for 2022.

“I’m happy enough just focusing on the club. I have big decisions to make with work and where I’ll be this year, in general. When I spoke to Dessie [Farrell] last year when I was stepping away, he made clear to me then that the door would still be open, and having spoken to lads on the team more recently, they’ve said the same as well. I do appreciate that.

“As I’ve said before, I do take things one year at a time. I’ve been pretty terrible at planning things beyond that timeframe. I’ve told them that I do appreciate that, and if a time comes when I would like to go back, and do get that urge again, that would be great. For the time being, I’m happy out with the decision and just focusing on the club, and different plans that I have.”

Mannion’s absence was keenly felt in the Dublin attack last year, as their unprecedented six-in-a-row reign came to a crashing halt in the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo.

He admits that it was unusual to make the transition from the dressing room back to the stand.

And he was sore as he watched his county fall against their rivals from the west.

“It was strange. You’re back to being a fan again. You do analyse things based on the knowledge of how we would have liked to play in the past. In ways, there was a lot less pressure. We were able to enjoy it a little bit more.

“Watching them lose was difficult as well. You know how much it means to a lot of the players, how much it meant to Dessie. That was difficult to take and watch. It’s part and parcel of it. It was bound to happen at some stage. I was able to enjoy a lot more things throughout the summer. I focused on different things. It was mixed.”

Onto more immediate matters, Mannion says he “should be good” to line out for Kilmacud Crokes in their Leinster SFC final against Naas on Saturday evening.

The star forward suffered a knee injury in their semi-final victory over Portarlington, but says he has been training in preparation for the provincial showdown.

“It’s not bad,” he explains.

“The semi-final against Portarlington in the first half, just under a tackle, I fell awkwardly and twisted it a bit. I’d done similar on it a couple of years back, and it aggravated that.

“It took a week to ten days to settle down, but it’s alright now. I’m training on it. One more session to get through [on Thursday night], the last bits of prep and should be good to go for Saturday.”

Kilmacud Crokes’ Paul Mannion was speaking ahead of the AIB GAA Leinster SFC Final, which takes place at Croke Park, this Saturday, 8 January at 5pm and will see the Dublin champions take on Kildare’s Naas GAA. This game will be broadcast live on RTÉ 2.

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