News round-up: A significant rolling back of the role of the GAA president was outlined in passing by incumbent Nickey Brennan.

Speaking at yesterday's media conference in Croke Park, Brennan said he hoped that both his duties and those of his successors would be more ambassadorial than they have become in recent years.

"I want to see the role of president pushed back and into the country. I don't intend to have as much of an executive role and I believe that future presidents will have less of an executive role."

His comments came as the GAA outlined a major shift in administration with the appointment of director generaldesignate Páraic Duffy and his plans for a more collegiate and policy-initiating approach to the position.

When asked about the proposed new role for the president, Duffy was in agreement. "Nickey's style is such that he may find it harder than he thinks to pull away from his current level of involvement, but I have no problem with that whatsoever.

"I agree completely with him that the president's role should be more of an overview. He's the chairman of the board and the executive report to him."

The presidency has grown in influence over the past 20 years with recent office holders very involved in executive activity and decision making. This has created confusion and sometimes tensions between them and the director general. Asked was it in the interests of the DG to have the presidential input more strictly defined, Duffy disagreed.

"In the end, no matter what you say it comes down to chemistry. You can carefully and legalistically set down everything with absolute clarity on paper, but that won't help unless people can get on."

Meanwhile, in Cork, there was no further response from the senior county players in relation to Tuesday's decisions by the county board to appoint Teddy Holland as football manager and to uphold the previous reversal of the county managers' right to appoint his own selectors.

Players met on Wednesday night to consider the situation but yesterday's expected statement was not issued as the players opted to keep their powder dry for the time being.

Last year's football captain Derek Kavanagh was, however, reported as saying that he believed his team-mates wouldn't make themselves available to the new manager.

"It is very disappointing but we are not surprised," he said. "This is what we knew they would do. We specifically asked that no manager would be appointed until this issue was resolved, but that's just what they have done now.

"God knows how many candidates they have ruled out who are respecting the players' wishes on this, but obviously he (Holland) was not respecting the players' wishes in allowing his name go forward.

"That's what we don't like and we are not happy with it. At the end of the day, he went against our wishes and it is going to be very hard to work out now."