GAELIC GAMES: With the Dublin executive remaining silent after yesterday's meeting, former All-Ireland winning trainer Fran Ryder has left open the prospect of renewing his involvement with the county footballers.

Ryder, a physical fitness specialist, was a member of the Dublin team of the 1970s and took charge of physical preparation as part of Pat O'Neill's management team, which brought the last All-Ireland to the county in 1995.

Within a month of that success the management, which also included Jim Brogan and Bobby Doyle, stepped down.

"I enjoyed the years I was involved," Ryder said yesterday, "and I've never ruled out a return. I would have been keen to stay on with that management team we had at the time because we worked so well together. But I've kept my hand in since and am still interested."

Business commitments at the time prevented Ryder from becoming O'Neill's successor, although he was offered the position by the county board.

In the aftermath of Brian Mullins's withdrawal from contention on the grounds that the county officers were reluctant to commit to his training programme, Ryder doesn't believe the delay in naming a successor to Tommy Lyons is necessarily damaging to Dublin's preparations.

"There's plenty of time to get things right. I don't think the impact has to be huge, although it's obviously not ideal that Dublin players don't know what's happening before Christmas."

He acknowledges that the football landscape has changed significantly since his involvement ended nine years ago.

"Unfortunately, the league set-up cuts your room for manoeuvre. It starts in early February with two matches, then a small break, followed by five on the trot. That's basically seven games in nine weeks. Most counties are back doing heavy work or gym work. In the old league system you had three or four matches in October and November before taking a break. Now you're left idle after losing in the championship until the following February, so a lot of teams get together in the six weeks before Christmas."

Ryder feels that the plans outlined by Mullins for the physical preparation of the team were reasonable and that the application of sports science is an important part of preparing teams for championship.

"It's about assessing deficiencies and correcting them and getting feedback on the levels of fitness. I don't think what Brian was looking for was over the top in terms of weights and training programmes."

But he also believes that training hasn't changed in essence, because there is a limit to the amount of work that can be done before the law of diminishing returns sets in.

"We used bleep and fitness testing. Fitness levels are up and the intensity of preparations is up, but I wouldn't say training has changed a whole pile in the past 10 years for the reason that there's only so much you can get out of the players.

"The body can take two or three good sessions a week, because it needs 48 hours to recover. That can be varied with weights on off-days. Look at the Tyrone set-up of last year. They went for high-intensity training twice a week."

Ultimately, though, he says physical fitness is only one part of the equation when devising a successful formula.

"At the end of the day, though, all the assessments won't do as much for you as a forward like Mattie Forde, who can put the ball over the bar."

Last night, in a related development, Dublin footballer Ciarán Whelan told Newstalk 106's Off The Ball progamme that the players have asked Dr Niall Moyna, the head of the centre for Sports Science and Health at Dublin City University, to oversee a training program for the panel during the interim period before the county board select a new management team.

Another name mentioned in connection with the manager's job is Brian Talty, the former Galway footballer and long-time resident of Dublin who has worked closely with under-age teams in the county. He was also speculated on as a potential selector with Mullins. At present he is seen as a possible appointment together with a member of Lyons's management team, Paul Caffrey or Dave Billings.

Talty declined to comment on the situation yesterday.

There was no statement released after yesterday's county executive meeting, but it is understood that the officers remain confident that the vacant position will be filled within the next 10 days.

The one guarantee that the new manager will be named soon is that the county convention is in three weeks and the elective officers are certain to want the matter cleared up by then.