In the old days an inter-county manager’s job was straightforward: pick the team and fire up the troops.

Now it is the sporting equivalent of joining the circus where managers walk the high wire in summer while performing the role of juggler in spring.

None want to show their tactical hand - the mistake Mickey Harte and Derry made last year - but at the same time they have to try and blood new ideas and players, winning enough games to build confidence but not so many to accidentally find yourself in a final.

Read more: “It doesn’t make sense” - Leading GAA coach calls for League revamp and blasts ‘unfair’ format

Read more: What are the new Gaelic football rules? Here's a guide to the seven key rule changes

For Kerry or Dublin, making the League decider won’t be a disaster, given how easy their route is to a provincial title. You can’t say that about the four Ulster teams in Division One, though. They’ll all remember how fixture congestion as well as Harte’s tactical stubbornness hit Derry last season.

That’s why the League is such an unusual fixture in the Irish sporting calendar.

For example, Armagh and Donegal were in Division Two last year, Galway narrowly avoiding relegation to the second tier. Yet by the time the Championship came around, these sides comprised three of the four semi-final spots.

And yet to suggest League form never correlates to the Championship is wrong. Ten times this century the League winners have added an All-Ireland to their CVs within the same calendar year. Will that happen again this year? No one, including the circus performers, knows.

Dublin

Manager: Dessie Farrell (sixth season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 2023, Leinster 2024, League 2021 (shared)

Key man: Con O’Callaghan

Last season: Beaten in League final; lost All-Ireland quarter-final to Galway

Big issue: Will Stephen Cluxton stay on? Possibly. Will Michael Fitzsimons? Probably. Can Dessie Farrell win another All-Ireland without them? Definitely.

For all the talk about Dublin’s decline, some facts need to be remembered. Namely they ran Galway to a point last year, collected Sam the year before, came within a point of Kerry the year before that, and only lost to Mayo in extra time in 2021.

If anything they are the most consistent team around and while Brian Fenton’s loss will be huge, James McCarthy won't be, as he didn’t feature too prominently last year.

Their defence will still have Fitzsimons, Jack McCaffrey (both probable returnees) as well as Davy Byrne, John Small and Eoin Murchan. In attack, Ciaran Kilkenny, Con O’Callaghan and Cormac Costello have scored 33-409 between them. Plus they have Paul Mannion.

And this is a team that is finished? Don’t believe a word of it.

Kerry

Manager: Jack O’Connor (fourth season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 2022, Munster 2024, League 2022

Key man: David Clifford

Last season: Third in Division 1 of the League; lost All-Ireland semi-final to Armagh

Big issue: Their starting XV is probably the best in the country but their finishing XV most certainly is not. Addressing that lack of depth is the biggest task facing Jack O’Connor this spring although everyone will be tuning in to see how much freedom David Clifford gets under the new rules.

Being stuck on your own with Clifford holds as much appeal to a defender as listening to Harry Styles does to a music lover.

And if Clifford thrives then Kerry could be champions again. A lack of mettle let them down last year. Let’s see if they’ve toughened up since.

Tyrone

Manager: Malachy O’Rourke (first season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 2021, Ulster 2021, League 2003

Key man: Darragh Canavan

Last season: Fifth in Division 1; lost All-Ireland preliminary quarter final

Big issue: Having won two of the last three Under 20 All-Irelands, history appears to be repeating itself for Tyrone. Their 1990s team and 2003-08 side was propelled to glory on the back of underage success and with the junior Canavans steering the wheel, there is every reason to believe a fifth All-Ireland will be visiting the county some time soon.

Certainly Malachy O’Rourke’s presence suggests that will happen. The former Monaghan and Fermanagh manager has an impeccable CV and has hunger as well as experience, a potent combination. Is 2025 a year too soon for this emerging side? Not if the established players, the core of whom won an All-Ireland in 2021, wake up.

Armagh

Manager: Kieran McGeeney (Eleventh season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 2024, Ulster 2008, League 2005

Key man: Rian O’Neill

Last season: Won promotion from Division 2; All-Ireland champions

Big issue: Can they avoid being a one and done side, like Derry in 1993, Cork in 2010 and Donegal in 1992? At least the 2012 Donegal side followed up their All-Ireland by remaining a dominant force in Ulster that decade. Armagh in 2002 were the same.

And that’s the task awaiting Kieran McGeeney now. Will they push on or sit still?

Knowing McGeeney from his playing days, Ronan Clarke was in no doubt: “Geezer won’t be satisfied," said Clarke. "He’ll want more. He’ll want to drive this on and on and on.”

Sometimes you don’t always get what you want, though. Armagh will find defending their title an even tougher challenge than winning it.

Donegal

Manager: Jim McGuinness (second season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 2012, Ulster 2024, League 2007

Key man: Oisin Gallen

Last season: Promotion from Division 2; Ulster champions and All-Ireland semi-finalists

Big issue: Can Michael Murphy turn back the clock? If so, then Donegal could bring Murphy together with Oisin Gallen and Patrick McBrearty and become a seriously potent force.

New rules lead to new tactical trends and it helps that the greatest innovator in the game is back in charge of Donegal again. Jim McGuinness is much more than just a nerd, though. He’s an inspiration to men and has an unwavering belief in his methods. They are unquestionably championship contenders.

Galway

Manager: Padraic Joyce (fifth season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 2001, Connacht 2024, League 1981

Key man: Paul Conroy

Last season: Sixth in Division 1; lost All-Ireland final

Big issue: Has their chance of an All-Ireland gone?

To beat Dublin and Donegal but then lose to Armagh in a final must be psychologically damaging to Joyce’s team, especially when you consider the number of chances they created in that game.

Like Donegal and Kerry, they appear to be a team that will profit most from the new rules, not just because Shane Walsh and Damien Comer may finally get a little space, but also because of Paul Conroy’s accuracy from the two-point scoring range.

Mayo

Manager: Kevin McStay (third season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 1951, Connacht 2021, League 2023

Key man: Ryan O’Donoghue

Last season: Fourth in Division 1; lost to Derry on penalties in preliminary quarter final

Big issue: Is there any life left in this team?

It’s premature to say there isn’t as they blew a chance to beat Dublin last year when a more cynical side would have sealed the deal by reverting to the dark arts. For manager, Kevin McStay, the pressure is mounting to deliver on his promise.

No Connacht title since Covid-times and no All-Ireland since Eamon DeValera was Taoiseach would ordinarily lower rather than raise expectations but it’s different in Mayo, simply because they have finished runner up so often. Likelier to be pretenders than contenders in 2025.

Derry

Manager: Paddy Tally (first season)

Last trophies: All-Ireland 1993, Ulster 2023, League 2024

Key man: Shane McGuigan

Last season: League champions; lost All-Ireland quarter-final to Kerry

Big issue: Their collapse in the second half of last season has reduced people’s trust in them.

Quite why Paddy Tally wanted the gig is a mystery but he’s a fine coach with a good tactical brain. With confidence at a low ebb, Derry need a good league to regain that winning feeling. But Ulster is a minefield which will make it harder to build momentum.

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox