Caffrey puts pressure on Kerry
Dublin manager Paul Caffrey reckons that Sunday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Kerry will certainly be a joy to behold with his players in "the best shape of their lives."
There is a cocky confidence about the Dubs this year but Caffrey believes that this confidence is fully justified and that critics of Dublin football should beware as this is a team that is firmly intent on parading the Sam Maguire Cup on O'Connell Street come next month.
"People said our forwards were in trouble at the start of the championship, now there is the perception that our defence is in trouble - neither statement is true," Caffrey said.
"Every day is different and the 26th of August is coming very quickly and there is no script written for it."
It is this unpredictability which has driven Caffrey and his charges to take the last three Leinster titles and they are firmly hoping that more silverware is on the way.
"Nobody knows what is going to happen in that match and nobody knows where the turning point in that game is going to be, but all that I know is that this Dublin team of 07 have prepared very, very well.
"We are in a good place and we expected to be back in the semi-final and we are there. The players and management expect that we will play very well on the 26th."
Dublin have beaten Meath, Laois and Derry already this season but it was the two games against Meath which gave the country an insight into the intensity of Dublin's preparations this season.
Caffrey believes that his team are better prepared now than they were when they faced Mayo at the penultimate stage 12 months ago.
"I think the opposition has a lot to do with it, in terms of that it was hard to retain Leinster this year. When the draw was made, it was Kildare or Meath and we knew that was going to be a hell of a draw especially with them getting a game at Croke Park under their belts before us.
"As it turned out, Meath progressed nicely in Division Two and got their National League semi-final at Croke Park so they were always going to be well prepared, but we were well prepared for our first round match too.
"Any year Dublin and Meath comes on the horizon it's always going to be a massive challenge for either team and I think as a result both teams have improved greatly from it and that's where we find ourselves."
The Leinster championship successes of Laois and Westmeath in 2003 and 2004 robbed Dublin of total dominance in the province this decade, but Caffrey believes that this was not a bad thing for Gaelic football and that defeats in those years spurred his players on to their recent triumphs.
However he feels the Cork-Kerry axis in Munster needs to be broken.
"I'm six years involved with Dublin and I didn't see a big decline in Dublin. What was wrong with Westmeath and Laois coming through and taking a scalp and winning a Leinster title each? It was great for football," admitted 'Pillar.'
"It meant that we weren't good enough either year to beat them and maybe that made us look at ourselves a little bit harder.
"A monopoly of Cork and Kerry - is it good for Munster? The answer is no! It's good for Cork and Kerry, they are guaranteed to be in the All-Ireland quarter-finals every year as it stands. Healthy competition I think is better for the game. You have it up in Ulster and you have had it in Leinster for the last few years."
Kerry beat Dublin by 1-15 to 1-8 in the 2004 All-Ireland quarter-final - the counties' last championship meeting - however Caffrey is not keen to dwell on previous encounters.
"The previous matches and the quarter-finals this year won't come into it. I think that it is very important that we in Dublin look forward and not look back.
"Of course you are looking for where you didn't play well in your last performance and where you could do better and where you played well, and there are lots of areas where we are doing very well in and that we are pleased with, but there are also areas that we are unhappy with and we will be working hard on those on the training field.
"We're really looking forward to this semi-final and I am particularly looking forward to this Dublin team playing very well next Sunday."
