Pat Spillane has concurred with John Small’s assertion that the life of an inter-county footballer is now a full-time job.

The seven-time All-Ireland SFC winner with Dublin claimed in an interview after announcing his inter-county retirement last month that playing inter-county requires “30 hours a week if you're doing it right” and is better suited to college students than people with work and family commitments. 

Writing in his Sunday World column, Spillane stated: “He’s quite correct that if you want to achieve, you’ve got to put in the long, hard hours.

“He made a very intelligent point that if he was an inter-county manager, he would target lads in college, in the 20 to 24 age category. Students who have plenty of time on their hands, something he stressed is difficult to achieve when you have to manage family and work commitments.

“I share his sentiments. Being an inter-county footballer is now all-consuming. The reality is that if you want to achieve, you must put your life on hold for six or seven months every year for X number of years. Many are prepared for such sacrifices, but there are also many top footballers who are not.

“It’s very easy for successful counties to get players into their training panels, as the chances of success are high.

"The likes of Dublin, Kerry, Galway and Armagh don’t have people turning down the opportunity. But it’s a different scenario with the minnows, where players see little or no chance of success.”

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