Dublin boss Pat Gilroy was pleased with Sunday's 2-24 to 0-13 win over Offaly at Parnell Park but felt his side had a slight advantage given the way the fixtures played out.   

"I think it's a great format - I think probably the relegation is a little bit harsh, I don't think it's necessary. For Offaly, that's tough," he told Off the Ball's Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh after the match. 

"We probably got the perfect structure playing two games, having a week off and playing another two games, so maybe balancing it out so everybody gets that break. 

"It was tough on Offaly to get four games (in a row) so for us -  we can have no complaints about it - we were happy with the structure," he added.

Looking ahead to next week's clash with reigning Leinster and All-Ireland champions Galway, Gilroy said: "We'll deal with the Galway game, focus on that and get a result and then we'll sit down and review the year and lay out our plans for next year. 

"We really believed we'd win our first three games - we didn't - so we've got to look at the things that need to improve. I think certainly discipline in our tackle is something we need to work on. It was a lot better today but that's one area and we've lots to work on."

Reflecting on his first year in charge so far, he said: "It's been disappointing because we didn't get to the place we'd hoped we would get to but an awful lot of work has gone in and there's been a lot of improvements in a lot of areas but at the end of the day - we came in here and amongst the group, felt we could target a Leinster final and we didn't make that, so it's been disappointing from that perspective," he added.