Hickey hails ‘best ever’ Dubs
The three-time All-Ireland winner, who featured on the 1974, ’76 and ’77 teams, believes Sunday’s achievement over Kerry has dwarfed those triumphs.
“We had a great team but I believe this team are going to become the reference point of Dublin football.
“We are now eclipsed as far as I am concerned. This group are better. In every sense.
“As a football team they are more talented footballers. They are a bigger panel. And I don’t want to say this as a denigration of my own guys because they were the reference point for Dublin football up to yesterday.
“Yesterday I have never seen a team fight to the last minute with the belief that they would get the break if they kept going at it.
“The amazing thing was that we all expected Stephen Cluxton to hit that ball over. I don’t think Jimmy Keaveney would have done it, or Barney Rock or Charlie Redmond and they are all great figures.
“But that was an unbelievable pressure kick. Clucko — I’ll tell you, we all expected that guy to score that point. You can’t say more than that. And the whole team expected him to do it too.”
Hickey, who replaced Paul Nugent as a selector at the end of 2009, never doubted that the team would win an All-Ireland.
“I came on board on the invite of Pat Gilroy because I knew this team had an All-Ireland in them. I am on record as saying that so I am not bullsh**ting you now. This is an incredible group of young men. And Pat and Mickey Whelan have moulded them into a formidable unit.
“The egos are gone. It is 15 to 35 guys all pulling in the same direction so I think they got their just reward.”
Hickey also revealed the panel had taken a lot of motivation from Jim McGuinness’ chokers comment about them in June.
Following their Ulster quarter-final win over Cavan, the Donegal manager told The Sunday Game: “You caneulogise about Kerry and then talk about Dublin, the perennial chokers but Donegal, just poke fun at them.”
McGuinness later clarified the remark, insisting he didn’t brand Dublin chokers, but Hickey said they took full note of it.
“We are a different type of choker, we choke other teams to death,” he smiled.
Hickey is unsure about Gilroy’s intentions for next year but personally speaking he wants to remain involved.
“It is up to the county board and if Pat wants me around and Mickey Whelan wants me around I would hate to abandon this group of guys because they have given me a great pleasure and joy to be involved with them.”
As for whether they can emulate the three All-Irelands he won as a player in five years, Hickey is more than confident that they are going to be contenders for years to come.
“I believe this crowd if they keep the head and they keep interested and there are a lot of competing things with the Australian stuff and all that.
“But if we can keep the group together and bring our minor team on and the U21s, then I think we will be around a long time as a very competitive last-four team.”
Highlighting the iconic photograph of Cluxton kicking the winning point in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, Hickey likened it to another one over 12 months ago but with Dublin on the receiving end of the free.
“There was the same picture last year with Donncha O’Connor doing the same thing in a similar photograph.
“Cork made us what we are. They showed us, they had hard times too before they got their win. And they ain’t gone away.
“Ourselves, them and Kerry will be the teams next year again.”
After the brickbats Whelan received during his tenure as Dublin manager in the late 90s, Hickey was delighted for the septuagenarian coach.
“You have to be with Mickey to understand how inspirational he is. He’s 70 years of age and he finished a PhD this year and most guys in their 20s or 30s wouldn’t dream of doing (it).
“Every training session had some little variation every night and always with the ball.
“I have never been involved with such an inspirational personality in my life and that includes Heffo (Kevin Heffernan), Tony Hanahoe — the whole lot of them.
“This fella is right up there with the best. He has had tough times and got a lot of abuse in 1996 which was unjustified. He always tells it like it is but he’s an inspiration to me and the boys he looks after.”
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