Croke Park development: The GAA are to move team replacements out of the stand and back into dugouts at Croke Park. This re-arrangement will necessitate structural alterations to both the Cusack and Hogan Stands.

The news follows complaints levelled at the new arrangements, introduced four years ago, which involved re-locating the players in the stand away from the sideline.

Incidents at last year's Ulster final replay, played at Croke Park, prompted Armagh manager Joe Kernan to criticise the situation in which he said his players were subject to abuse from opposition supporters.

Dublin manager Paul Caffrey called his replacements down from the stand at the end of the league match against Tyrone in Omagh, claiming that he was concerned for his players' safety when they were up in the stand, surrounded by spectators during the heated exchanges on the field.

As the positioning of panellists in the stand was accepted as a match regulation, its revision may need the approval of Central Council. But the new dugouts have been designed to a high specification and will be set into the front of the stand, so they may satisfy the current stipulations.

"We took soundings on the old dugouts on the Cusack Stand side of the pitch," says Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna. "The difficulty was that they were too low-down and covered in Perspex, which became a hot box and wasn't comfortable.

"When the Hogan Stand was built the subs sat in the front of the stand, which meant they got a good view but were liable to get wet if it was raining, which isn't great for guys waiting to tog in. They were also disjointed from the team officials and there were fans in the vicinity, which can lead to situations that can spark friction."

The new dugouts will be ready for this year's championship and have been designed by stadium architect Des McMahon.

They will be spacious enough to allow players to stand, walk around and do stretching exercises, and will also feature screens to enable players to watch action replays.

"We consulted with players and managers on what their preferences were," says McKenna, "and a brief for Des McMahon was drawn up to satisfy those requirements."

The structures, measuring about 250 square feet, will be set into the front of the Hogan Stand and will require the removal of seats, but will not result in a loss of capacity for the ground, as the old, disused dugouts on the Cusack Stand side of the field will be removed and replaced with additional seating.

There will be interest in how other venues around the country react to this development. Some have made effective provision for the seating of replacements in the stand, whereas others just plant the players in the middle of the crowd, which hasn't proved a good idea - regardless of which supporters are nearby.

An important issue will be the proximity of the players to the sideline, which prompted the concerns that led to the re-location in 2002.