Kelly: Dubs must get off to flyer to avoid relegation dogfight
The cat is well and truly out of the bag about the capabilities of Anthony Daly’s side and the All-Star-nominated defender believes they’ll be marked men from the outset.
In a reduced Division 1, where two of six teams will face each other in a relegation play-off, teams will have to be primed from day one.
“The new structure does not give you that period where you can blood in new players, or to try and get used to a team,” said Kelly.
“You are straight into the intensity of it. It is a good thing in a way because it does not give you the opportunity to try ease your way into it.
“You have to up the intensity straight away and, if you don’t, you could be in trouble in terms of relegation. No team wants to go down to Division 2 because it is going to be very hard to compete in the championship if that happens. So, for us anyway, we will seek to hit the ground running.”
After a heavy January of training this year, Dublin may have taken some teams by surprise, but there’s little mystery about them now.
“We always had that expectation of ourselves, to try and get the best out of ourselves,” remarked Kelly. “I know other people know now what we are capable of.
“We will be a lot better known this year and we will get a lot more credit coming up to games, because people will stand up and take notice.
“We won’t be the underdogs going into every game like we were last year.”
Dublin certainly won’t be lacking for ambition within the camp. Their goal last year was to win the All-Ireland and their belief was certainly bolstered by running Tipperary so close in the semi-final without five of their key players.
“Some people might be saying that we are happy with our lot but we are certainly not sitting back on our laurels and happy with just reaching a semi-final. We are working hard to go further next year.”
As much as 2011 was a season of progress for Dublin, the 2010 All-Ireland qualifier defeat to Antrim continues to haunt the players. Kelly assures the team are determined to further consign that shock into the past but also ensure there is no hangover from the outgoing season.
“It feels like only yesterday that we were outside there against Antrim and when the final whistle blew, there was absolute devastation. It was more than a year we felt that we had gone back, it felt more like 10 years after the season we had before (2010).
“It is definitely something that we are looking to iron out this year and make sure there is no hangover.”
Daly will surely look to add more to his team’s style of play in 2012.
Aside from the quarter-final win over Limerick, goals were scarce.
However, Kelly defends their sweeper tactic, which they used to such good effect for large parts of the game against Tipperary.
“We would not focus too much on what people said about as long as our manager and backroom team were not saying it. We didn’t mind too much, really. We just focused on our own lot. Many teams have used that tactic and have gone on to win All-Irelands so it is not a weakness, it is just a tactic.
“We play it and it works for us, but different games bring different tactics. It is not something that we take really heed of.”
As for where Kelly will play next year, he insists he doesn’t mind. Tomás Brady’s injury saw him moved to the full-back position, where he performed admirably against star names like Kevin Downes and Lar Corbett.
With Brady unlikely to be ready for the start of the league, as he recovers from a cruciate injury, he’ll likely be positioned there again.
“I have been slagging Tomás, saying I have only been keeping the jersey warm for him.
“Once I am playing anywhere, I don’t really mind. Anywhere in the backs it is fairly versatile and once you are versatile enough, you can play anywhere.
“It takes a game or two to get used to the position, so I am used to most positions now, so wherever I am put next year, it will be easy enough to play.”
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