THE subject of Eamonn Fennell's protracted transfer saga and pending DRA (Disputes Resolution Authority) appointment was strictly off-limits yesterday at Dublin's training base at St Claire's on DCU's Sportsgrounds, but fortunately there was plenty besides for their man-of-the-moment midfielder to ponder.

For instance, what about Paul Caffrey's recent declaration that Fennell is now the heir apparent to Ciarán Whelan? Or the effects of the same former Dublin manager's decision to drop Fennell from his panel in 2007?

Dublin's unbeaten start to the league maybe? Or perhaps even the more delicate subject of his weight?

Not since Johnny Magee once famously declared that he "liked his turkey at Christmas like everyone else" has the subject of the bulk of a Dublin footballer been so closely scrutinised it has with Fennell over the past two years or so.

DOUGHNUT

But the sight of him this year still motoring in the closing stages of one of Dublin's victorious wars of attrition, having put in a Trojan-like shift, has silenced plenty of the sceptics.

"I suffer terribly with my fitness. If I even looked at a doughnut, I'd put on a stone," admitted Fennell yesterday, visibly slimmer and fitter than he has ever been since he first joined the Dublin squad in 2006, a development he puts down to a greater discipline and a rigidly adhered to winter fitness programme.

"You definitely enjoy your football a lot more when you're fit. You're more comfortable in the game. Mentally, you're lasting longer in the game too. Fitness is key for a midfielder. Especially when you're playing against these teams that are at you the whole time. You're taking hits, you're giving hits. If your body isn't right for that, you're in trouble."

Speaking at a media event last month, Caffrey espoused Fennell's virtues as a player but made particular mention of his willingness to continue the squad-assigned strength and conditioning programmes long after he had been dropped from the squad.

In hindsight, explained Fennell, the experience was invaluable.

"When I first got dropped off the panel, I knew myself that I wasn't right," he admitted. "I knew what I had to work on to come back into it. There was a lot of my game that I wasn't happy with and I think Pillar would say the same. He gave me things that I had to go off and work on. So I did that and I came back."

Since the turn of the year, Fennell has started every match Dublin have played, but as he says himself, "I think that was just to give me game time".

"But I have a lot to thank Pat for," he continued. "He has shown a lot of faith in me. But you just can't get complacent."

Fennell's 2010 renaissance is all the more timely given the recent departures of Shane Ryan and Whelan, though he is quick to point out how beneficial it was to share a training pitch with both players.

"I learned a lot off Ciarán -- as I did Shane," he admitted. "When you're playing against these lads, all you can do is learn from them. If I had to mark Ciarán today, I still wouldn't know how to mark him. He's that kind of player."

IDEAL

However, Fennell is not entirely comfortable with the 'new Whelan' tag, if only for the reason that it is ill-fitting. As he outlined, the ideal midfielder would, in his eyes, be a Ryan-Whelan amalgamation.

"The way Shane played the game is kind of similar to the way I'd try and play. I'd try and adapt my game from both of their games, rather than just trying to be Ciarán Whelan with big size 10 gloves on!

"But Ciarán was a legend. Without a doubt, one of the best midfielders over the last ten years. He was definitely unlucky not to win a lot more in his career but he's done a lot for Dublin football. He's still a big influence on a lot of lads on the panel.

"He gave everything to the cause and that's what I want to do. To give everything and try and make that All-Ireland final. But I'm not looking that far ahead," he added. "I got dropped once off the panel and I don't want it to happen again. Especially as I've nothing to fall back on."

- Conor McKeon