Tyrone great Peter Canavan believes it’d be “a hell of an achievement” if Dessie Farrell could steer this current Dublin squad to All-Ireland SFC glory in the summer.

After the retirements of James McCarthy and Brian Fenton in November, the Dubs have been without Paul Mannion, John Small and Jack McCaffrey so far this year, while Stephen Cluxton is part of the squad but the 43-year-old has yet to feature after a minor knee injury at the start of the Allianz League campaign.

Last Saturday saw the Leinster champions slipping to their second defeat in Division 1 at the hands of Armagh (1-20 to 1-12) and, speaking on the RTE GAA Podcast this week, Canavan says the loss of those veterans alongside Fenton make regaining the Sam Maguire Cup a huge task for the capital men.

“It's not just Brian Fenton. John Small, I think, would be very much suited to the way the game is played at the minute,” said the two-time All-Ireland winner.

“Paul Mannion up front likewise...Jack [McCaffrey]. Two of those three or four players back and they're a force, they're a different team.

“Can they win an All-Ireland without them? It would be a hell of an achievement for Dessie Farrell to do that.

“You see that team on paper, there's a lot of newcomers there, there's a lot of lads finding their feet.”

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