Jim Gavin: Dublin facing into a “big task”

Dublin manager Jim Gavin knows his side face a much improved Kildare in Sunday's Leinster SFC final in Croke Park (4.0).

A crowd of around 55,000 is expected at GAA headquarters and a battle royale anticipated.

The Lilywhites followed up league promotion to the top-flight with comprehensive championship victories over both Laois and Meath to reach their first provincial final since 2009.

“They (Kildare) are a very impressive side. They are very fit, they are very mobile, they had that impressive run in Division 2, they got promoted to Division 1," says Jim.

“They won both of their championship games against very close rivals in Laois and Kildare. They have pushed on.

“And again, having known Kildare football so well, I attend a lot of their championship games, they play good football down there. And that’s a reflection of what I would see at championship games during the year.

“So it is going to be a big task - as it always is.

“We do a bit of work on the opposition but we always focus on our game.

“We don’t look to see what we can score, it’s to try and get that performance," adds Jim.

"And hopefully at the end, when you add up the scores, we’re a point ahead of the opposition.”

The curtain-raiser on Sunday in the Leinster MFC final between Dublin and Louth (2.0).