Improving Kerry can end Donegal's dream in what promises to be a thriller

Kerry have a core group who are familiar with the demands of big Croke Park occasions and that could be vital, writes JOHN O'KEEFFE

THIS IS probably the most pressurised championship weekend in the Gaelic football calendar. For the first time, every player who walks out onto the pitch at Croke Park knows there is no safety net to catch them should they slip up. There is no cushion, no back door. From now on, it is do-or-die. And, of all the phases that make up the All-Ireland campaign, it is this quarter-final series of games that have the greatest potential for shocks and upsets.

There was no back door in my own playing days but I’d imagine the modern All-Ireland quarter-finals are akin to what I felt coming into a Munster final, where you know your performance is going to be forensically dissected. Of knowing that your summer could be over after all the preparation and hard work and sacrifices.

I had many a sleepless night before a Munster final and, after that, going into an All-Ireland semi-final or a final. As a full back, I always felt an extra element of responsibility, where any mistake could prove catastrophic. And, in a way, the pressure felt going into these type of matches was always added to by having respect for the players I was due to mark. Men like Declan Barron of Cork. Matt Connor of Offaly. Dublin’s Jimmy Keaveney.

In my days playing with Kerry, Mick O’Dwyer never mentioned the word pressure in the dressingroom or on the training ground. Micko was so competitive he wanted to win every match, including challenge games.

In those days, you’d have been laughed out of it if you mentioned working with a sports psychologist but, in his own way, O’Dwyer was one. He had the ability to say the right thing, to build a player’s confidence. He gelled the team together. When it came to games, he was able to get the most out of the team.

The players on the eight teams at Croke Park this weekend will experience varying degrees of pressure and all of them need to know how to cope with the realisation there is no safety net from now on in.

It helps a team to have players who have been through such scenarios over and over again, players who’ve constantly proved themselves in knockout situations.

Those players have developed their own coping skills to ensure their performances won’t be negatively affected by pressure. For instance, I see players like that in Marc Ó Sé, Tomás Ó Sé, Declan O’Sullivan and Colm Cooper in the Kerry set-up. They are players you can rely on to perform on the important days.

Will the four provincial champions feel more or less pressure than the four teams who have progressed through the qualifiers? Perhaps. But the main concern for Cork, Donegal, Mayo and Dublin is the number of weeks since they’ve had competitive tests. This is especially true in the case of Cork who, with the greatest of respect to Clare, haven’t had a serious test since playing Kerry on June 10th, all of eight weeks ago.

I don’t care how competitive their training sessions are or have been, but that’s too long without a truly competitive match and probably makes them the most susceptible to a shock. Is it possible for a team to find their best form after such a long lay-off?

I’m convinced you can’t replicate the intensity of knockout games in training and that is a concern which to my mind means all four qualifiers have a realistic chance of winning.

Coming into these games, the game sharpness and momentum and confidence that winning matches brings will belong to those who have come through the qualifiers. There’s no doubt in my mind competitive games are much better than regular training as a form of improving a team and for working on strategies.

It’s almost as if it is a double-edged sword for a team to win a provincial title given how those who come through the qualifiers have the greater momentum, but it is also why this weekend of all weekends is so intriguing each and every year.

The pressure associated with the quarter-finals is different to anything that players will have experienced so far this season.

There is no lifeline if you come out on the wrong side of a result. Win and you move on. Lose and you’re gone. Pressure games.

Where will the shock come from? Now, that is the intrigue. First up this evening is the match between Mayo and Down and I have a fancy for Mayo who are progressing nicely under James Horan. They’ve had some Croke Park experience in the league.

Down were well beaten in the Ulster final by Donegal and weren’t up to it and Danny Hughes’s continued absence is a big loss to them. Mayo have a greater balance.

The expectations are high on Dublin and the way they switched off against Meath in the second half on their last outing would be a concern. They can’t afford to show that complacency again and I don’t believe they will. Dublin need to get that ruthlessness that All-Ireland champions show.

Laois are particularly strong at centre-field and I like Justin McNulty’s philosophy of playing a high-intensity game. I expect Dublin to come through and it could be the time for us to see a run at some stage from Ciarán Kilkenny, who is a star in the making.

Tomorrow’s matches are especially intriguing. Kildare have progressed nicely through the qualifiers and, given their long lay-off from serious game time, it could be difficult for Cork to get up to the speed of the match.

This is a very dangerous game for Cork but the depth in their panel, their experience and, most of all, the number of scoring forwards in their ranks should get them home – but not without a struggle. If Cork are to be vulnerable, this is the weekend.

The Donegal-Kerry match should be fascinating. It’s going to take some team to beat Kerry who have improved during the qualifiers. I just think they have more of a threat in the final third of the field, with Kieran Donaghy and Cooper playing really well in recent weeks.

It’s going to be close and I don’t think it will be decided until very late on.