SATURDAY’S MEETING of leading GAA officials at Croke Park to consider the discussion paper on amateurism and payments to managers was asked to submit a written response from each county by the end of next month.

The well-attended meeting was the first phase in the process to consider the document drawn up by association director general Páraic Duffy.

Of the three options – maintaining the status quo, which sees the rules prohibiting payment to managers widely ignored, enforcing the rules more rigorously or allowing structured payment to intercounty managers – the prevailing sentiment at the meeting appeared to favour the second although debate was muted.

The next steps will be the gathering of the responses from the counties as well as the appointment of a working group to consider these submissions as well as any from other interested parties before arriving at a recommendation to shape clarified policy on the vexed subject.

Asked about the issue after yesterday’s O’Byrne Cup match, Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney said that he hadn’t read the document.

“I didn’t get to read it. We weren’t given it. Was it put in the papers? It wasn’t sent out to me.

“We work hard, we work harder than a lot of people realise and probably those who give opinions on it without realising.

“I see a lot of people talking about intercounty players and writing reports on them and writing reports on intercounty managers and yet none of them seem to know what they actually do or give.

“I probably would suggest that people do a wee bit more homework before they comment on it. That would be the only comment I have on it.”