Donal Burke is confident that new manager Micheál Donoghue can help the Dublin hurlers achieve their potential after what he admits was a disappointing season this year.
Donoghue has succeeded his county native Mattie Kenny in the hotseat, following a year in which they again threatened to make an impact but ultimately failed to make it out of Leinster.
"It's a great appointment for Dublin hurling," said Na Fianna man Burke, speaking ahead of his club's Go-Ahead Dublin senior final against Kilmacud Crokes next week. "I'm sure he has a plan in place.
"It [last season] was definitely disappointing because I was off for the summer studying, so I was planning on being a full-time hurler basically.
"Especially the way the campaign started, we had a great win against Wexford and we thought the [All-Ireland] quarter-finals or even coming out of Leinster was definitely on the cards.
"It was very disappointing then to go out the way we did. I took a break after that to rebuild and then it was onto the club then."
Dublin will be missing three big players in Liam Rushe, Chris Crummy and Cian O'Callaghan next season as the trio all plan to travel.
"They've given brilliant service to Dublin hurling so you can't really fault them for making that [decision]," said Burke.
"There's more to life than hurling at the end of the day so you can't be holding grudges against them. They've been absolute stalwarts for the last 10 years.
"Delighted for them now that they can put their personal lives first, which sometimes has to be done."
Rushe transferred to Na Fianna from St Patrick's Palmerstown last season and was key as they reached a first ever county senior decider.
Burke said he's been a "massive, massive addition" to the team.
"He's a natural leader. When things are going bad, like at the weekend [in their semi-final win over Cuala] he was probably man of the match at six. When things were going bad he was coming out with some unbelievable catches and some big plays.
"He's a born leader on and off the pitch. We've quite a lot of young lads on our team so he's someone to look up to. It's a big role."
One man who will be with the Dubs next year is Eoghan O'Donnell, who joined up with Dessie Farrell's football squad after the small-ball early exit this summer.
That led to speculation that O'Donnell might switch codes from the start next year but he confirmed to RTÉ Sport last week that he was sticking with the hurlers.
"He told us anyway before that it was never in doubt," revealed Burke. "He's a great addition always."
