Jim Gavin claimed his players had no problem "getting into the bubble" as the furore around Diarmuid Connolly's dramatic late appeal success dominated the build-up to their All-Ireland semi-final replay against Mayo.
Connolly's appeal to the Central Hearings Committee failed on Wednesday. He then took his case to the Central Appeals Committee, which also rejected his appeal, before the independent Disputes Resolution Authority rescinded his one-match ban, freeing him up to play against Mayo.
"The Dublin boys are used to a lot of stuff going on in the city," Gavin said after his team's 3-15 to 1-14 victory. "They’re quite comfortable getting into that bubble and just working on their performance and that’s what they did and that’s why they got the result."
Dublin once again exhibited the immense depth of their squad, with Kevin McManamon getting his customary goal off the bench, and Gavin talked up the power of the collective.
"It’s a team game, it always has been for us," he said. "I’m just delighted for the team in total. We prepared very well for the game, we knew it was going to be a massive challenge and we had great fun this week.
"Mayo are a class side; we knew they were going to get chances and if they got them they’d take them, that’s how good they are, so it was just a matter of our guys staying composed.
"The players do have good mental resolve. They’ve shown that in the National League and the Championship already so I’m just very happy for them."
