ONE WIN IN NINE IS THE ONLY RECORD FITZ WANTS TO SEE BEATEN
EAMON FITZMAURICE’S comfort tonight is that Kerry will embrace rather than shrink when the Blue bandwagon rolls into town. There was a time when Kerry’s aura was such that it was argued that they had teams halfbeaten before a ball was even kicked, but if that is the case it is Dublin who are now gifted with such powers of intimidation. In his four years as manager, Fitzmaurice has won just once – the last time Dublin were beaten in March 2015 – in nine attempts against Jim Gavin’s team, leading to a perception that the champions have now got inside Kerry heads. It is a theory that Fitzmaurice refuses to buy into, claiming that the chance to play Dublin appeals to, rather than appals, his players. ‘I’d flip it the other way in that when a team is that good, it is huge incentive and a huge motivating factor. ‘Sometimes, the lads can be relaxed against certain opposition and it can show in our performance. ‘Against the likes of a Dublin, the fact they have won so many games and have been so consistent, will be a huge motivating factor,’ he insists. The evidence, certainly as far as Kerry’s carelessness when faced with teams they are expected to beat in early spring, is there to see. In Fitzmaurice’s reign, Derry, Roscommon and Monaghan (twice) have all won in Kerry’s backyard; results that jar with the chasm in class that exist between the talent at Fitzmaurice’s disposal and what was available to those teams. Focus, though, has never been an issue when it has come to Dublin. And yet, that has done little to stop the bleeding. Dublin have also managed to kill the notion that League form is an irrelevance come the summer and not just because they are seeking a fourth Championship League double in five years. They beat a rusty Kerry team by six points going on 16 in last year’s opening round fixture, and in the process visited Fitzmaurice with a moment of clarity. ‘I remember thinking that night that if they managed to maintain that level until next September and win a second All-Ireland in-arow, they are some team. They did. Nothing surprises me with them anymore. ‘They are a serious team. The consistency they have brought to it is
incredible. I saw a stat a couple of weeks ago concerning the great Kilkenny team that won four All-Irelands in the middle of the last decade, their longest winning streak in Championship and League ran to 14 games. ‘That puts in context what they’re doing. Their level of consistency, their level of performance week in, week out, year in, year out is unbelievable. ‘Championship is one thing. If you’ve achieved that in championship, that is doable. When you put all the variables that come into it during the league and they’ve managed to do what they’ve done, it is incredible,’ admits the Kerry boss. Tonight, Dublin will seek to stamp their greatness all over Kerry one more time, by laying claim to a half share on the 34-game unbeaten record held in the Kingdom’s vault for the past 84 years. ‘Every team is beatable,’ Fitzmaurice says. ‘They are beatable. Whether it will happen this Saturday night or not, I don’t know. ‘It will happen at some stage. I’d love if it was this Saturday night.’ You can bet he does.