Kildare manager Cian O’Neill reckons his side can improve by "20 or 30%" when they come up against All-Ireland champions Dublin next weekend.
The Lilywhites booked their place in the Leinster SFC semi-final courtesy of a 1-18 to 0-10 replay victory over Longford in Tullamore.
"We started off a bit anxiously but we thawed our way into the game and we figured it out," O'Neill told RTÉ Sport.
"That’s probably something that we haven’t done in the past.
"In the second half we just wanted to go at them with the breeze at our backs, we were really attack-minded and, to be fair to the players, I thought they did an outstanding job, still leaving another 20-30 per cent for improvement going into next week is a nice place to be."
Have Kildare got a chance against the Dubs? #RTEgaa pic.twitter.com/v0fXTXTgUu
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Jim Gavin’s five-in-a-row chasers await in Croke Park next Sunday and O’Neill knows his side will need to improve by at least that to have a shot at an upset.
Knowing that possession may be at a premium against the Leinster and All-Ireland champions, the manager said he was most pleased with his players' work-rate off the ball.
He said: "When we didn’t have the ball we didn’t work hard enough [last week] and we let them in for three goals and ultimately that’s what cost us the match.
"This week we got the balance right between when we had the ball and when we didn’t."
