Jim Gavin takes responsibility for Dublin defeat to Donegal

Dublin manager Jim Gavin has held his hands up and admitted that the lack of balance between attacking and defensive football from his team cost them the All-Ireland semi-final against Donegal last month.

Gavin, while adamant that Dublin won’t stray too far from their attacking philosophy as long as he is the manager, does accept that it was the over-eager devotion to it that Donegal exploited to pull off the biggest shock of the football championship.

“On a personal level, I accept full responsibility for that performance,” said Gavin. “And I accept full responsibility for the philosophy and for the way Dublin play their football, for the attacking style we play and sometimes for the vulnerability that it brings and the unpredictability of it.

“I’ve managed Dublin teams for eight years now and I’ve lost more than I’ve won. And with this particular group, the senior squad, they’ve done pretty well. we look at it by competition so if you go through the national leagues, the Leinster competition and the All-Ireland competition, they’ve won five out of six.

“So one result doesn’t affect my resolve or the players resolve. One result won’t change the core philosophy of how Dublin play football. But it’s been a learning experience, that’s for sure.

“And it’s about trying to get that balanced approach in the future. The performance wasn’t balanced in relation to the game and we got ruthlessly punished by a very good team who exploited it. That’s for me to go away and learn from.”