A two year extension to Jim Gavin’s reign as Dublin football manager was ratified last November. It’s just that nobody noticed.

The 43 year old will remain at the helm at least until the end of the 2017 campaign.

"A week after the All-Ireland semi-final I met county board chairman [THE LATE]Andy Kettle and chief executive John Costello to quickly review the year that had gone by," said Gavin ahead of Sunday's Leinster quarter-final against Longford in Croke Park.

“Obviously I needed look forward to see where I was at and where they thought I was at. The outcome of that meeting was that I was going to go for another three years with the team.

“That was ratified by the Dublin county board sometime in November of last year so it’s been done for a while.”

Gavin, who replaced Pat Gilroy in October 2012, has guided Dublin to an All-Ireland and two Leinster titles. Coaching within the capital's underage structures since 2003, he came to prominence as a manager when the under-21s captured All-Ireland titles in 2010 and 2012.

“I go from year to year anyway. There are no contracts signed. It’s an agreement between myself and the officers of the county board.

“We’re all volunteers and that’s the way it works. If they want me to stay on, I’ll stay on. We just put a bit of structure on it.

“Obviously, we have plans for the team and to see them through, we thought another three year cycle would be appropriate.”

Meanwhile, wing back James McCarthy is out of Sunday’s game after sustaining a toe injury in a recent challenge match against Clare. The championship opener also comes too soon for Ger Brennan while Rory O’Carroll is unlikely to start due to a recovering hamstring tear.

In better news, four time All Star Paul Flynn has been passed fit. The team will be released at 9.30pm.