Gavin hails troops’ spirit and resolve

The dynamic for Jim Gavin’s meeting with the press was different to Conor Counihan, obviously enough.

The Corkman had stepped down. The Dublin manager had just won an All-Ireland quarter-final.

He didn’t dawdle when the time came to put that into context.

“We’re happy with the result,” said Gavin. “What pleased me most was the great character the Dublin team showed. Great steadfast resolve and great energy amongst the group and their willingness never to give up.”

The obvious example of someone who never gave up was Jack McCaffrey, whose raiding runs were eventually rewarded with a fine goal early in the second half.

“We’ve always said we give the players a framework to play within and it’s up to them to express themselves. There is no particular rule on bearing down on goal, whether they should pass or take a shot. They are all highly intelligent men and they have good game intelligence. That’s it.”

“(It was a) Fantastic finish. Alan Quirke is an outstanding goalkeeper and to beat him, one on one, is a fair achievement.”

Gavin’s not surprised McCaffrey has settled into senior football so quickly: “No. I’m not. I obviously worked with him at U21 level and seen his capabilities and his potential. We played him through the National League games and he’s developed. He is very mature and grounded, as are all the Dublin team, and it’s a pleasure to work with them in that regard.”

Gavin, admittedly, was a little frustrated with some of David Coldrick’s decisions — “From the player’s perspective it’s frustrating to see the free count so high and sometimes you can be a little bit at a loss as to why that is because we do place such an emphasis on our tackling. It’s not just David (Coldrick). It has been happening all year, throughout the League and Championship, the tackle count (free count) has been going against us for whatever reason. Defending is an art and tackling is a skill and we’ll keep telling lads to get the inside hand in tackling the ball. There were some great strips there and the frees went against us.”

On the other hand, the Dublin management will look at spurned goal chances. “We’ll reflect on every passage of play. That (process) is led by the players with the coaches on their coat-tails. It’s very much player driven. They give themselves great feedback. They’re a very intelligent bunch and they demand a lot from each other.”