Fennelly focused on nailing down first-team place

GAELIC GAMES LEINSTER HURLING FINAL:WORD IS Dublin are in a no-lose situation going into Sunday's Leinster hurling final, which means Kilkenny must be in a no-win situation. If they beat Dublin convincingly they'll be told they weren't actually tested. If they beat them narrowly they'll be told they weren't really trying. Even if they lose they'll be told they probably just let Dublin win.

The reality is Kilkenny have plenty to lose - at least the players do - if they don't maintain Brian Cody's relentless demands for excellence as they press on for a fourth successive All-Ireland. The entire Kilkenny hurling machine runs on the basis that every player is only as good as his last game. Slack off in any way and there's a bench there waiting for you.

Not even team captain Michael Fennelly is immune from such pressure to perform. The 24-year-old was always identified as one of the most exciting prospects in the county, ever since he started hurling with Ballyhale Shamrocks as a six-year-old.

He won an All-Ireland minor title in 2003, and then won two under-21 titles, in 2004, and then 2006 - the same year he graduated to the senior panel.

Even with one of the most famous names in Kilkenny hurling (his father, Michael, also won an All-Ireland with Ballyhale Shamrock), Fennelly still has to earn his place along with everyone else. He missed the National League final win over Tipperary after being laid low with the mumps, then returned for the Leinster semi-final win over Galway. But he struggled a little, and was replaced early in the second half by Derek Lyng.

So whatever role Fennelly does play on Sunday, starting or otherwise, there won't be much sympathy for Dublin's novelty of being in a first Leinster final since 1991.

"The panel is so tough right now," says Fennelly. "You could throw another 10 different players in there on any given day, and they'd do the same job as the top 15. My only objective is to stake a place on the team.

"If we win after the 70 minutes I'll think about the captaincy thing then, but of course it's a great honour, a great privilege. But this is my fourth year on the panel and there really are leaders all over the field. Everyone on the panel takes on the responsibilities, the pressure.

"There is probably a slight bit more pressure to stake that place, given the captaincy, but I can't do anything else other than focus on my game. The most important thing for me is playing, to take the captain element out of it."

Fennelly also makes it clear Cody is viewing Sunday's game as he would any other Leinster final. If anything, the fact it's Dublin and not Wexford or Offaly means he's paying even more attention - more alert to the unknown dangers of Dublin.

"Oh definitely," adds Fennelly. "You'd nearly have to give Dublin more respect because of the way they've come on the last few years. And that there's no real expectation of them on Sunday.

"They've nothing to lose. It's their first Leinster final in a long time. They're athletic, and physical too. We played them in Nowlan Park earlier in the year and were lucky to scrape away with the win.

"We're under no illusion about Sunday. It's going to be another tough battle and we have to make sure our heads are right for the day. For us it's another step up, to get on to the All-Ireland semi-final, and hopefully final."

Dublin last played Kilkenny in the Leinster championship in 2003, when they lost 3-16 to 0-10. There was also the qualifier of 2004, when Kilkenny hammered them 4-22 to 0-8.

Fennelly hasn't yet played Dublin in the senior championship, but has played them up along in the underage ranks and knows as well as anyone what they're capable of.

"They've been coming the last few years, pumped a lot of money into development squads, underage. That's starting to show now. I've played them a lot at minor and under-21 and they were always there or thereabouts.

"We always gave them the respect they deserved. The result sometimes didn't reflect how close they came to us, and we'd have been fortunate enough against them."

And, as if playing for their place wasn't enough motivation for Sunday, the Kilkenny players are perhaps sharper than ever for a Leinster final given their intense semi-final battle with provincial newcomers Galway.

"It was great to get a tough battle like that early on," admits Fennelly. "We really had to get ourselves ready. But that's what we love. Good, hard training sessions, 15 on 15. That's what drives us on.

"We were fortunate enough to come out with the victory, because Galway really put it up to us," he said. "I've no doubt we'll see them further on in the year too.

"I think their inclusion in Leinster has worked. They're getting more games, and will improve. And I suppose that will only make it tougher for us every year.

"But sure that's the way we want it. You always relish the big challenges coming in front of you."