We have to play to our potential: Tom Gray

Dublin minor football manager Tom Gray knows his side will have to be at their best to overcome a talented Derry in Sunday's All-Ireland MFC semi-final at Croke Park (2.0).

While both counties were nervy at times in their quarter-final victories Sunday's encounter promises to be an open, entertaining, well-contested battle.

“There is no question but that they (Derry) are a top class side and they have an excellent set of forwards," says Tom.

“Because of the talent that they have, especially from midfield up to their forward line, they like to play a very open and expansive style of football and that has been shown in all their games this year.

“They started off very well in Ulster by beating a Tyrone team that were very much fancied to go far and in that match, and as well as kicking eighteen points, they showed great character and resilience to come back from three points down.

“They played some very good football against both Antrim and Cavan after that and have put up some very big scores.

“You could see in the Ulster final how much they enjoyed the open spaces of Clones as they scored 1-22 in that game, with the bulk of those scores from play, so there’s no reason why Croke Park shouldn’t suit them next Sunday.

“They have five guys who played there in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry last year so there is a fair degree of experience in their team too."

The young Dubs did not hit top gear in their last-eight victory over Clare last time out, so will be looking to improve on aspects of their play this weekend.

“We have had a very good response in training since the Clare match and they have shown throughout the year that they can deal with playing in front of big crowds so Croke Park shouldn’t hold any issues for them at the weekend.

“They were very composed down in Newbridge when we played Kildare in the Leinster semi-final, where they dealt with a large crowd on that occasion, and Kevin McManamon has done some great work in terms of the mindset of the players.

“We are optimistic that if we can play to our potential, then we will get the right result on Sunday.

“However, we have to play to our potential though,” adds Tom.