Beyond here lies nothing, which could be said about most things in life, although Jim Gavin has to try hard to suggest Dublin aren't looking beyond Sunday's Leinster football final against Westmeath. It's a repeat of last year's final, only this time pits the now All-Ireland champions against a now Division Four league team: so, if the 2015 final wasn't much of a contest, Dublin winning by 13 points, 2-13 to 0-6, why should this one be any closer?
“Well, league is league form, and championship is championship,” says Gavin, the Dublin manager as reserved as ever when drawing up the battle lines for Sunday’s game. “Once any team gets to a provincial final it’s a two-horse race. From our perspective, our preparation remains the same, and we give every team the same respect.
“Westmeath showed last year that they have plenty of drive and character. They’ll trade off last year’s experience too. It’s a game we want to win, and to that end, it’s one we’re very focused on. It means as much to us as it does Westmeath.
“We have been a little inconsistent, against Laois, and Meath. For the best part, against Meath, they played with 13 men against the ball. We created lots of opportunities, but didn’t take them, which is the disappointing part. And we’ve been working on that.”
It’s also the first time Westmeath have made back-to-back Leinster football finals in their championship history, and while last year’s final experience may well stand to them, their recent relegation to Division Four of the league doesn’t auger well in terms of them getting any closer to Dublin.
Speaking in the broader context, specifically the hand-pass fest that was last Sunday’s Connacht final between Galway and Roscommon, Gavin suggests there is “no right or wrong way” to play football.
“All of our training sessions are skill passed, and I can’t remember the time we did a session without the ball. It’s a long, long time. Pre-season. Foot passing is a key element of our game plan, and we’ll keep on after it.
“Most of the teams we play against have 13 players behind the ball, for most of the game. Our inherent game, in our DNA, is attack-based football, and you see that in club games too.But there is no right or wrong way to play football, and it would be unfair for me to say there is.”
