Sleeping giants ready to reawaken, says Caffrey

THE mere fact of Dublin getting back to their first Bank of Ireland Leinster football final in three years doesn’t necessarily prove that Paul Caffrey was the best man to succeed Tommy Lyons as manager.

But it does show that 'Pillar', as he is known, was eminently qualified to take over the reins, and that his commitment to the team superseded any dissatisfaction he might have felt when former great Brian Mullins was supposedly courted by the executive.

But that's all in the past for the Store Street-based community Garda, the son of Cavan parents. He is only concerned about the here and now, about getting Dublin back to a position of pre-eminence and being able to seriously challenge a Laois team which has reached new heights under the inspired management of Mick O'Dwyer. He recognises that there are now more counties around "with potential" and that it's all down to a levelling of standards, of the so-called weaker counties preparing just as well as the top sides. His task is to raise Dublin's standard.