Evergreen James McCarthy primed to dispel age myths

Pat Gilroy became Dublin manager at the beginning of the 2009 season. He inherited a squad from Paul Caffrey that had won four Leinster titles in a row and played free-flowing attacking football but struggled to win Sam Maguire.

In Gilroy's first couple of seasons in charge, much of the focus in the media was about their early-morning training sessions and double-sessions on certain days.

The big changes I could see were how Dublin were setting up on the field and the types of players that they were selecting.

More systematic defensive structures were introduced. For example, in 2010 Dublin played with a half-back line that held their position more than any other team I have played against. During 2011, things evolved more, with the team as whole defending and attacking as a unit. From the outside looking in, it was as if Gilroy and Mickey Whelan were working on getting defence right first and then build from there. It proved to be a fruitful approach. They conceded only three goals throughout the All-Ireland-winning 2011 championship season.

Gilroy made big changes with team selection. He ripped apart the starting team from the 2008 Leinster final. By the time he led Dublin to All-Ireland success three years later he had introduced 10 new players to his starting 15. That is a big shift - changes in starters for top tier teams in championship are generally slow. The top-tier sides are built around a settled team, collective understanding and familiarity. Gilroy broke the mould.

The new players he brought in were very athletic and coachable. Perhaps less flamboyant and more functional. A player that caught my attention as soon as he was selected on the Dublin team in 2011 was James McCarthy.

The Ballymun Kickjhams man played a