Paul Mannion has become the latest Dublin footballer to speak in favour of playing more matches outside Croke Park.

Ciaran Kilkenny and Paddy Small have also expressed a desire to play Leinster SFC games at provincial venues where the atmosphere would be better and full houses would be guaranteed. Last Sunday's Leinster SFC final attracted a crowd of just over 23,000, while Dublin's previous games against Meath and Offaly were also poorly attended.

“I think, just from a players’ point of view, you want to play in grounds that are packed and have a good atmosphere,” Mannion told reporters at a SuperValu promotional event this week.

“They (the GAA) are probably missing a trick and overlooking the kind of atmosphere and excitement that you can build in smaller grounds.

“But then they are also probably thinking that we have this magnificent stadium that could be just not used for large parts of the year if that’s the case, so I can understand the dilemma.

“I think if you mix it up and take some games out of Croke Park and build an atmosphere elsewhere, it gives more of a novelty to Croke Park for players and fans and you’d probably see attendances go up because it would be used less frequently,” the Kilmacud Crokes sharpshooter added.

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