Jarlath Burns has promised a robust approach from the standing committee on playing rules as they try to fix gaelic football.

The former Armagh man concedes that the game has become far too defensive and confirms that he will try to address some of the problems that have afflicted football in recent years:

"I can't be specific about what we will do but we have to acknowledge the game has become too defensive," he told The Irish Independent. "And defensive play by its nature is negative because it prevents creative play. Do we look to limit the number of handpasses? Do we look to limit the number of forwards that can cross a halfway line?

"As a body we have to work to look at solutions because if we do nothing we are saying that everything is fine and I think the vast majority of people would say that the game is not fine. Football is developing an ugly side.

"Spectators want to see skills, they want to see high catches being made. They also want to see great blocks and tackles from defenders. But they don't want to see 12 men consistently behind a ball. That's lazy coaching. It's easy to coach that and there is nothing imaginative about it.

"We'll be robust in our debate. If there are solutions, I'd hope we can put them forward. Can we make the game more expansive? Can we make it more enjoyable to watch? Those are the questions we will ask ourselves."

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