Bernard Brogan: We focus on our own game

Kerry travel to Croke Park this Sunday determined to quash Dublin's four in-a-row quest of NFL Division 1 titles.

The Dubs have held the upperhand over the Kingdom in Croke Park encounters in recent years but know that they face the ultimate test for this time of the year this weekend.

“They (Kerry) seem to have their championship faces on early in the season, which might be a bit of a surprise for Kerry, but obviously they have a purpose about them this year, which makes Sunday’s game even more interesting for ourselves," says Dublin manager Jim Gavin.

“What emotional attachment Kerry will have to six months ago and if they are seeking revenge for the All-Ireland final ... that is something that we never look at and is outside of our control. All I can manage is how the Dublin team prepare.”

Dublin forward Bernard Brogan echoes the words of his manager.

"What’s worked for us is taking each game in isolation and not thinking about them as finals or semi-finals or rivalries or whatever.

“The Dublin/Kerry thing …there’s always a bit of a buzz. And it’s always nice playing Kerry but it’s no different from other times.

“Getting those victories is massively important and the way we’ve done that is by focusing on the game and how we prepare ourselves.

“If we perform well and we do the things we want to do, usually we’re on the right end of the result.

“We’ve had loads of years where we struggled and we were nowhere near a league final.

“If you start thinking about four in-a-row or big wins or All-Ireland finals, that’s what we’ve learned doesn’t work.”