Paddy Andrews and Dublin braced for Donegal test

Even with nothing tangible to play for in their last two rounds of the Allianz Football League there won’t be any backing off from the Dublin players. That Donegal are coming to Croke Park this Saturday evening can only help ensure that.

Paddy Andrews suggests as much when eyeing up their penultimate opposition; with five wins from five, Dublin are already certain of a semi-final berth – and with that their quest for a fourth consecutive league title – and yet the last thing any Dublin player wants to reveal now is any air of complacency.

“When you’re talking about the competition within our panel, and the places up for grabs, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Donegal or whoever we’re playing,” says Andrews – who himself has featured in most of Dublin’s games so far in 2016.

“Every time we go out, guys are trying to impress Jim Gavin, to impress the management. For guys that might be only new to the panel or guys that are pushing for places.

Their place

“Jim has always said that nobody is guaranteed their place or is guaranteed to start so every time you get the opportunity to play you’ve got to perform. If you don’t, you won’t be playing in those big games in the summer.

“Of course it’s Donegal and there is obviously that great history between the two teams over the last number of years. So we’ll be looking for a performance in that game as much as in any other game. It’s just the mindset as players.”

That “great history” between Dublin and Donegal that Andrews talks about is clearly fresh in their minds, including his own. He came on late in that epic 2014 semi-final, when Donegal outgunned them in the second half, winning 3-14 to 0-17, although in other ways, he says, Dublin have moved on.

“Any time you lose games in All-Ireland semi-finals or finals or any big game, of course there’s huge disappointment there. That game is nearly infamous now at this stage, but for us I think we addressed a lot of issues from that game. That’s all you have to do. When you lose games there’s obviously lessons to be learned, and they might be a bit more obvious than when you win games.

“Certainly we had issues to address from that defeat. I think over the course of last season we certainly showed that we had taken heed of some of the aspects of that game. It’s something that you’ll always kind of remember, losing a big game like that. It’s just about trying to perform now going forward.

“If we lose any game really there’s an inquest into why we haven’t performed to our level. But with so much at stake in an All-Ireland semi-final, we certainly had a bit of soul-searching and there were aspects of our game that we had to tweak to be successful again.

“Thank God it worked last year, but again we’ve got to keep improving because Donegal are improving with a lot of other teams. Mayo and Kerry as well. It’s just about trying to be a little bit better going forward because if you stay at the same level you open yourself to being caught again.”

Donegal certainly have something to play for on Saturday. Fourth in the table, and having lost to Roscommon the last day, they effectively need a win to keep alive their chances of making the semi-finals. Either way Andrews is expected as stern a test as Dublin have got this year.

“They’re just a very good team. They’re obviously very hard to play against, same as most of the teams in Division One1. There might be a little bit extra obviously because of the recent history and because we’ve played in some really big games over the last number of years, that have gone for us, and have gone for them.

“I suppose just that familiarity with how they play and what they bring to the table is there but it’s really just about us and trying to get that good performance and get the win. We may already be in a league semi-final but we just want to keep it going, whether it’s against Donegal or Roscommon the following week.

“Success gives you that confidence. We’ve played five games, and we’ve won five probably without really hitting top gear, but it’s just that guys are just comfortable and we know what we’re doing, we know how to win the games. And for myself as much as anyone else in there, it’s just kind of that confidence, knowing where you are at. And when you’re getting the nod and getting more game time you become a bit more settled in your play and I suppose we’re probably just seeing that now.”