Jim Gavin has rubbished reports that Diarmuid Connolly is no longer part of the Dublin football squad.

Speculation about the controversial St. Vincent's clubman's future with the All-Ireland champions has intensified in the past week after he wasn't part of the panel for the Allianz League games against Kerry and Galway.  In fact, his only appearance in the campaign to date came as a second half substitute against Mayo.

"At the moment we are giving Diarmuid a rest - as we are to a couple of other players who didn't partake today," the Dublin manager explained after yesterday's drawn encounter with Galway in Salthill.

"Kevin McManamon is just back from Boston. He was there with the Irish boxing team in his capacity with them. And Darren Daly as well.

"It's just trying to get that balance right. We have 10 weeks now to go to championship and it's just trying to get that balance right for those players."

Gavin declared himself satisfied with Dublin's strong finish, which cemented their place in a sixth successive Allianz League final.

"I think it (the last 15 minutes) was probably our best play. But up to that we didn't really play to our standards. I think in the first half they might have got four scores from our turnovers - just hand-passing," he said.

"We'd consider ourselves trying to play a traditional brand of football, and catching and kicking and hand-passing would be very much part of that skill-set. So that really let us down, particularly in the first half. 

"But I think our boys, above all, showed great mental strength and resolve in that game. When it did look like it was going away from them, they stuck at it; hit a few wides that again you wouldn't be particularly happy about. But, you know, they kept at it."

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