Speculation is mounting that Pad Joe Whelahan won't survive the season as Limerick hurling manager. While the county board last night backed Whelahan, it will take a dramatic improvement in the county's form for him to see out his two-year term.

The six-point margin of defeat to Tipperary on Sunday does not reflect just how bad Limerick were, and follows a similar performance against Cork the Sunday before. The executive of the board will meet tonight, but according to chairman Denis Holmes, there won't be any drastic decisions concerning Whelahan's future.

"This is just our normal monthly meeting," explained Holmes, "and there haven't been any developments on the issue since the game on Sunday. If I were to be honest about it then I'd have to say the issue will be raised at the meeting, and something will be said about the performances of the senior hurlers.

"But there is not any pressure from the board at the minute. I haven't spoken with Pad Joe Whelahan since the game, but I can't see anything drastic happening in the immediate future."

What is almost certain to be raised at tonight's meeting is the issue of dual players. Whelahan ruled out any hurler playing both codes shortly after his appointment in November 2003, a decision that caused considerable unrest in the county and resulted in six dual players opting for football alone.

Brian Begley, Stephen Lucey, Mark Keane, Mike O'Brien, Conor Fitzgerald and Mark O'Riordan all played a role in Limerick's three successive All-Ireland under-21 hurling title victories from 2000 to 2002. Keane made his return to hurling in the Cork match, but football remains the enforced preference of the others.

A softening of Whelahan's attitude to dual players would only partly address Limerick's problems, however. Converting that remarkable success at under-21 level to the senior grade has already proved a challenge too great for Dave Keane, who led the county to the historic underage treble.

When Whelahan eventually emerged from the Limerick dressingroom on Sunday he admitted he was worried about the way things were going, saying Limerick "can't get much lower than we're going now".

However, talk of player dissent was also played down by the county board yesterday, even if the absence on Sunday of such seasoned players as Mark Foley and TJ Ryan, both former captains, has created an inevitable air of discontent. Foley pulled out of Sunday's game with flu, while Ryan has gone on a four-week training regime designed to get him back to full fitness.

"There is no dissent in the camp," said county press officer Denis O'Carroll. Everything is quite normal, but of course there is disappointment there from the last two outings. But Mark Foley was told by the team doctor Dave Boylan that he wasn't fit to play on Sunday."

The panel were due back at training last night, and the pressure will at least be lifted a little going into their next league match against Down, set for the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday week. But that is followed by a difficult trip to Wexford.

The football league resumes this weekend after a two-week break, and first up is the annual showcase between Kerry and Dublin, to be played under floodlights in Tralee on Saturday (7.30pm).

Dublin manager Paul Caffrey has had mixed luck over the interval. Both Alan Brogan and Declan O'Mahony are set to miss the remainder of the league. Brogan has just undergone minor knee surgery, which will leave him sidelined for at least four weeks. O'Mahony had just returned to full training after a shoulder injury, but suffered a broken bone in his foot during training last week and could be out for two months.

Jonny Magee also suffered a minor leg injury during Dublin's two-point win over Monaghan in a challenge last Saturday. On the bright side, that game did see Colin Moran return after an eight-month lay-off following a broken arm. Moran played at wing back, and Barry Cahill, who missed Dublin's opening two league games, started at corner back.

Pádraic Joyce is set to make his first appearance of the year for Galway when they take on Sligo in the league in Tuam on Sunday. Joyce had been given a winter break to help him recover from a hectic season which culminated in him captaining Ireland in the International Rules series,

Sligo sharp-shooter Dessie Sloyan is extremely doubtful with a stomach muscle strain and didn't train over the weekend.