Yesterday's announcement that Galway's All Star goalkeeper Martin McNamara is to take a rest from football for an indeterminate spell came as more of a surprise to the country at large than to the football community in the county. Having leased the public house which he has managed since last year, McNamara is currently considering whether to buy the premises outright.

Galway manager John O'Mahony conceded that the demands of inter-county football are making it very hard for players who are self-employed. "The hope is that Martin will be available in a few weeks, when he has his business commitments sorted out, but I can't say for definite when or if he will be back," says O'Mahony.

"After Martin went into the pub last July or August, things were on a roll and he was able to accommodate the training schedules without any huge problem. I know he's been busier since, but it hasn't mattered because training wasn't being monitored after the All-Ireland.

"I have been aware that there was a problem since we went back into full training and Martin has only been able to make four out of the six sessions. The problem is that we have to get our preparations back on track and there is a conflict between a team that has a lot of work to do to get back into shape and someone who has to run his own business."

There has been speculation that the player may have decided that the commitment involved in excessive, particularly as he has now won All-Ireland medals at both club and county level.

Last Sunday in Cork, McNamara looked fairly heavy and would have plenty of work to do to regain the fitness levels of last season. But he is believed to have embarked on the Nutron diet - hardly the act of someone who has turned his back on the hardships inter-county training.

Wilder rumours around the county suggest that O'Mahony is about to unleash murderous training sessions on the panel in order to re-establish fitness levels, with six days a week being mentioned as the likely schedule. O'Mahony denies this.

"No, I don't believe in that sort of regime. Training is based on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The weekends are about football and the other nights about fitness. I have always believed in a training programme with a rest day in between quality training sessions."

McNamara isn't the only member of the All-Ireland winning team with this sort of problem. Tomas Mannion, the team's star left corner back, hasn't trained since the All-Ireland as he is busy with farming commitments. It was the same last year and Mannion was only able to join the panel after Christmas. This year, O'Mahony is unsure about precisely when the player will be available again.

"Over the Christmas, Martin had difficulty trying to get away for holidays," according to O'Mahony, "because he was so busy at the time. But training is different and you can't make exceptions. A player is either on the panel or off it and Martin understands that.

"At present we have an open-ended panel with nothing settled for the championship. Last year it wasn't until after we lost the league quarter-final that the summer panel was selected. This year will be similar. As soon as our league campaign is over, we'll pick the panel for the championship. Obviously if we survive until the semi-finals or final, it will have to be done earlier, but nothing will be finalised until April."

This allows both Mannion and McNamara about two months to make up their minds about the coming championship.