Tomorrow's Church & General League Division One A match between Offaly and Dublin in Tullamore has a particular resonance. The corresponding fixture played 13 months ago at Parnell Park was a controversial affair. It ended with Offaly captain Finbar Cullen searching for three of his teeth on the pitch as dusk fell.

Even more sensationally, Dublin's then manager Mickey Whelan decided he had had enough and, after receiving a barracking from the Dublin crowd incensed after a comprehensive defeat, he quit.

Tom Carr eventually became Whelan's successor and this weekend he takes his team to the opponents who unwittingly provided the catalyst for his appointment. The intervening year has been a hard time for Carr. Defeat by Kildare after a first-round replay in the Leinster championship was a major disappointment.

He admits the disappointment but doesn't feel culpable. "I think from our point of view, we got as much out of the team as we could. I suppose the big concern was that we went a point clear 10 minutes into the second half, the time for most Dublin teams to kill off the opposition.

"I don't subscribe to the view that the match proved Kildare's new battling character. The chance was there and we didn't take it. The killer instinct and hunger weren't there."

To date the current League campaign has been encouraging. A good win over Tyrone and a battling draw in Armagh leave Dublin well placed in the current table after two series of matches. More importantly, there have been eyecatching performances from younger players such as corner back Shane Ryan and corner forwards Mick O'Keeffe and Ray Cosgrove.

"Our plans at the start of the league were to trawl the county to see what was around and open the panel up," says Carr. "What we're doing is judging fellas on league games. This isn't always reliable but it's a good yardstick at the moment because we're very serious about the league and the players know that the same pressure is being applied to them as in the championship.

"Most teams take Dublin seriously and we can build enthusiasm and confidence by starting to win a few matches. I attach importance to it because our first goal is to reach the play-offs. The higher the level of competition, the higher the levels of confidence and it's hugely important to have fellas feeling good."

Last season's disappointment came in several guises. Faced with hard choices about the future of many of the players he had soldiered with himself from the 1995 All-Ireland winning team, Carr chose to retain faith in a number of them in central positions.

Tomorrow's line-out features only one third of the team which won the All-Ireland. Carr is so far pleased with the new-look outfit.

"I think there has been more cohesiveness than I would have expected. Two or three weeks after the championship defeat, we put together the panel. I would give great credit to the four or five from '95 like Brian Stynes and Jim Gavin because they have to turn around and start all over again."

Whatever the outcome in Tullamore, Dublin won't be getting much of a break. Carr intends to "get together two or three times a week" and start on the heavy, physical work and stamina. Liam Hennessy, the former international athlete who trained Tipperary hurlers to an All-Ireland, is in charge of physical fitness.

Carr isn't bashful about setting his sights on the league despite the generally unhappy history of league winners in recent years. With the exception of Kerry last year, it's nine years since a team doubled up league and championship.

"Winning the league can work two ways," according to Carr. "If we managed to win it, I'm sure we'd use it to our advantage but if we did and lost to Louth in the summer, that would be a failure. Dublin is about championship."