It’s going to be a great tussle: Dessie Farrell

Dublin senior football manager, Dessie Farrell, is determined to take it 'one game at a time' following Sunday's Leinster SFC final victory over Kildare in Croke Park.

The Dubs secured their 11th provincial title in succession and now focus totally on their All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo in Croke Park on Saturday week (6.0).

“We just have to take every game on its own merits and you can’t look back and compare to what has gone on, you have to look forward and understand and interpret the challenge that lies ahead, and get yourself right for that.

“Ultimately it is about winning games and being as competitive as you can to win games and that is what we are going out to do," said Dessie.

“To be honest, we don't focus really on what the narrative is out there. That will be for others. All we can do is, to use the cliche, 'control the controllables'.

“And that's how we focus on preparing and practice, and all the stuff that's in our gift, if you like. That's what we'll do, and that's what we'll continue to do.

“We're happy, obviously, to win a Leinster title. It's a milestone in our calendar. Provincial titles are always important. We're definitely very pleased with the victory.

“You look at the performance, we'll do a better job in assessing that in the coming days. But some pleasing aspects, possibly a lot of work-ons as well," added Dessie.

On Dublin's improved second-half display the Dublin manager said: “It's something we spoke about at half-time, I think it's just a case of making better decisions, probably being a little bit more patient. In the first half, we were forcing some shots from difficult angles, maybe not having the time and space to pull the trigger that way.

“It was something we discussed at half-time. I think we did a better job. The way Kildare were set up, they were difficult to penetrate, so we had just had to be patient, probing, probing, (and) wait for the right opportunity. And I think we managed that a bit better in the second half."

Looking ahead to their test in the last-four in the race for the Sam Maguire the former All-Ireland winner (1995) as a player said: “Mayo will probably be disappointed with their own first half (in the Connacht final) performance and they looked exceptionally good in the second half.

“It's going to be a great tussle. There's been very little to separate the teams over the years and we're looking forward to it at this stage.”