Kernan says backdoor gave champs chance to put house in order

JOE KERNAN takes reassurance in believing that his Armagh team is better than it was last year, when it won its first All-Ireland football title.

However, he said yesterday that he is expecting the semi-final against Donegal to be a tough assignment, adding that the team will have to play to its full potential to get back to the final.

"Thank God for the backdoor, that we were able to get in and get up and running again. The further we have gone the better we have seemed to get. But we have a real challenge now. Laois was a challenge, Dublin was a challenge, and now we are playing the team who are probably the team of the championship," he said.

The Armagh manager was in Dublin yesterday to see top forward Steven McDonnell receive the Vodafone GAA All-Star Player of the Month award for July, along with hurling winner Larry Murphy from Wexford.

McDonnell, 24, from the Killeavy club, was one of the stars of the win over Dublin in the qualifier competition, and finished with 3-4 in the next game against Limerick.

Kernan says that his team is "more composed" this year and has coped well with being champions.

"After the All-Ireland last year, I spoke to a lot of managers who had won All-Irelands, because we didn't know what was going to happen. The one thing that every one of them said was that injuries was something you can't cater for. From the start of the League this year until after the Monaghan match we had big problems with injuries. Kerry were concerned that they didn't have Darragh Ó Sé against Limerick; we went out without three All-Stars and the Young Player of the Year.

He had no doubt that they did the right thing at the time in resting the four players but he admitted that all four would have been risked if they weren't going to have a second chance.

McDonnell agrees that the champions are coming into form at the right time. And he has no doubt that they face a formidable task in their next game. "Donegal played good football to beat Galway, who were my tip to win the All-Ireland," he said.

The player, who has recently gone into business in Dundalk with M & M Picture Framing, has a big incentive to play well: "I had a poor enough game against Laois. You are fortunate with the backdoor system, you can redeem yourself. We're in a situation where we're in a semi-final and we have the chance to prove people wrong again!"