Eamonn Fitzmaurice is expecting to send his Kerry team out on Sunday against a Galway side 'brimming with confidence' after the Tribesmen's impressive victory over Donegal last weekend.
Galway bounced back from their miserable Connacht final defeat by Roscommon to thoroughly outplay Donegal at Markiewicz Park, running out 4-17 to 0-14 winners to book an All-Ireland quarter-final against the League champions.
"They would have been disappointed with the Connacht final but really reacted with a very strong display against Donegal and they'll be going to Croke Park brimming with confidence," Fitzmaurice told RTÉ Sport.
"There were two things that stood out for me. Their work-rate really went through the roof compared to the Connacht final, and the second thing was their forward play.
"They have six or eight good forwards and could afford to keep Danny Cummins, a very good finisher, and Michael Meehan on the bench.
"They were outstanding up front. That'll be a big challenge for us at the weekend."
The Kerry manager also pointed to a hard-nosed attitude present in the Galway side, hailing the work done by former county star Kevin Walsh.
"He has definitely steeled them and made them very tough to break down as well as having that attacking threat," he said.
"You need that balance if you're going to win trophies. For a relatively young panel as well, they'll have learned a lot from the Connacht final defeat, that mentality on the day of the game is so important."
Fitzmaurice might be without Bryan Sheehan after the St Mary's Cahirciveen star had his hamstring problem flare up again in training.
Sheehan missed the Munster final win over Cork with the injury, but had been expected to be fit for the last-eight encounter and is now a doubt.
"[Galway] were outstanding up front. That'll be a big challenge for us at the weekend."
"Bryan had a hamstring injury around the time of the Munster final and just about missed out on making it then and worked hard to get himself back," Fitzmaurice said.
"Unfortunately he had a re-occurrence last week. It's mild enough but it means he's a major doubt for next weekend. I won't rule him out until later on in the week, we'll give him the chance to get right, but he'd be doubtful.
"He's a special player and loves playing at Croke Park as well, so he'll be a miss if he's out, but you just have to absorb the injuries and it's a opportunity for another player."
That Munster final proved to be Fitzmaurice's final battle of wits with Cork boss Peadar Healy, who stood down from his post after the Rebels pushed Mayo to extra-time at the weekend.
Fitzmaurice had sympathy for Healy, who has endured plenty of criticism during his tenure, with his Kerry counterpart acknowledging that Healy was leaving Cork in a strong position for the future.
"Cork played an awful lot better against Mayo, the way they are capable of playing, and they really pushed Mayo," Fitzmaurice said.
"The margins are tiny and on a given day, anything can happen. We saw the real Cork in the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening and, from Peadar's own perspective, with the amount himself and his management team have put in is why it hadn't come out earlier.
"It's a tough job, especially when results are going against you. He was getting a lot of criticism, which can be tough when he's doing it for the love of the game and the love of Cork.
"Despite what a lot of people think, managers aren't paid. Maybe outside managers would be paid, but certainly when you're managing your own county it's a privilege and an honour to be doing it. It's a voluntary position and I think people forget that at times.
"Peadar got an opportunity to manage his own county and he took it and gave it everything he could, now he has moved on with integrity and has definitely left Cork in a strong place going forward.
"You never know what's going on in the background. There's a lot goes into it and if you're not enjoying it there's no point in doing it really.
"Probably there wasn't as much enjoyment in it for Peadar, particularly this year, as he would have anticipated and in that regard he probably made the right decision."
