Former Kerry All-Ireland winning captain Mickey 'Ned' O’Sullivan believes hunger could well steer his native county to an unexpected win over Dublin this weekend.
The reigning All-Ireland champions remain on course for a fourth Sam Maguire in five years and are odds-on for a fourth consecutive Championship win over the Kingdom.
The eagerly-awaited clash of football giants has been in prospect ever since the Championship draw was made last year and O’Sullivan says the rivalry is as intense as ever.
“There is something special about Dublin/Kerry games,” he told RTÉ Sport.
“You have town versus country mentality. It has gone back for generations.”
The Kenmare native has his own personal recollections of the fixture having captained his side to All-Ireland success in 1975.
Kerry aiming to halt Dublin juggernaut https://t.co/RjwGIRtw9I
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 26, 2016
Similar to Sunday’s encounter, Dublin were the title holders and heavy favourites to win, and the former Limerick manager is confident another upset is on the cards.
O’Sullivan has pointed to Dublin’s embarrassment of riches in the half-forward line as a key area to target with Paul Flynn, Ciarán Kilkenny and Diarmuid Connolly proven match-winners.
How manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice deals with their potent attack will go a long ways to decising the outcome he argues.
“They have to get the right people marking those players because everything revolves around that,” he said.
Two areas in particular give O’Sullivan cause for Kerry optimism.
First is the difficulty in retaining Sam Maguire, with the Munster Kingpins (2006/07) the only side to have done so in the last 24 years
“Dublin have been on top for five years. Most teams in the modern era have failed to put back-to-back All-Irelands because of this hunger.
“Once you achieve it, it’s very difficult to reproduce.
“Kerry on the other hand, inevitably, must have hunger after being annihilated by Dublin on the past three occasions.”
The other factor he feels is the hype surrounding Dublin in light of their comprehensive march to the last four, coupled with their League form.
Manager Jim Gavin has been at pains to refute suggestions of potential complacency ahead of Sunday, but the 64-year-old believes it is hard to cocoon players from the
“The hype about Dublin has been enormous. It’s almost impossible for management to prevent this from seeping through,” he said.
“Kerry on the other hand are benefitting from coming under the radar.”
When the whistle blows in Croke Park on Sunday evening, O’Sullivan is backing Fitzmaurice’s side to inflict Dublin’s first defeat of the year at the penultimate stage.
“Fitness is going to be a major factor, most second halves are 41 minutes.
“If Kerry can finish strongly, if their forwards take on the Kerry defence, if they have their best fifteen on the pitch for the last 20 minutes, they will do it.”
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