All-Ireland winning boss Pat Gilroy has said he will never become a full-time gaelic football manager as the GAA’s payment debate rumbles on.
Gilroy made the remarks just days after the GAA’s director-general Padraic Duffy admitted some managers are receiving payments.
Duffy has urged the association to finally tackle the problem after publishing a discussion document on the subject.
But Gilroy, whose team lifted the Sam Maguire last September, has said he has no interest in becoming a professional coach.
“If someone said ‘you’ve to give up your job to do football’, I wouldn’t put my hat in the ring for it,” said Gilroy.
“My career is important to me - this is my pastime and what I enjoy doing. If it was my job, it wouldn’t seem the same for me.
“It is a massive amount of time and commitment but I really enjoy it and the way it works for me is fine.
“I could totally understand guys in different counties thinking differently. We don’t have big distances to travel in Dublin, but personally the whole thing suits me as it is.”
Gilroy did welcome the new debate on the subject of payment to managers.
He added: “I think it would be healthy to have a very open debate about it because it seems to be a thing that is talked about in dark corners.
“It’s probably not as big as people think. You hear all sorts of stories and I think amounts of money are exaggerated because it is in dark corners, so it would be really healthy to have it debated.”
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