Dubs will be a lot better: Paul Clarke

Former Dublin footballer and senior selector, Paul Clarke, anticipates an improved display from Jim Gavin's men in this Saturday's All-Ireland SFC final replay at Croke Park (5.0).

“James McCarthy had a shoulder injury and another two weeks will bring him on. The defence played well the last day but up front they’ll have to find a little bit more,” says Paul, an All-Ireland SFC winner himself in 1995.

“And I think they can. Bernard Brogan, Paul Flynn, Kevin McManamon they can all bring bit more to the next day. Paddy Andrews did well when he came in, so there’s room for improvement there and I think they’ll be a lot better.

“I think Dublin will know what they are facing now. I think they know what Mayo will bring and I think they’ll react a lot better to it this time around.

“As a player and a manager I have been in those situations and they can be difficult.

“I’d imagine the lads who didn’t play to their potential will be annoyed with themselves but I think there’ll be calm heads in the Dublin camp," adds the Whitehall Colmcille's man.

“The players will be treated with the utmost respect and there’ll be no hasty decisions made. They’ll sit down and try and see where it went wrong. Is there something that can be improved upon in their preparation?

“They’ll try find out why they weren’t on top of their game, and they’ll know they can do better.”