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"If Dublin lose, there will be a raft of retirements"

Former Dublin manager Pillar Caffrey believes a host of players will retire if they lose the All-...



Football

"If Dublin lose, there will be a raft of retirements"

Former Dublin manager Pillar Caffrey believes a host of players will retire if they lose the All-Ireland final replay.

Kerry held the reigning champions to a draw two weeks ago, pausing the historic 'Drive For Five'.

And Pillar expects the Dubs to be primed to make up for any deficiencies from the first game.

"Dublin have got the fright of their lives. I'd say there will be quite a bit of anger in the Dublin camp knowing how close they were to it evaporating," he said.

But whether Dublin make history with a fifth All-Ireland in a row or fall short, he expects drastic changes.

"Be under no illusion, when this journey is over for this group, there will be a lot of retirements fairly quickly," Pillar added.

Dublin History

"I think whether they win tomorrow - hopefully from a Dublin point of view, they do win - but if they lose tomorrow, there will be a raft of retirements.

"These guys have put their lives on hold. The prize is huge for us as supporters looking in. It's absolutely massive in that it's history and that it's never been done before.

"I think you're going to get a better overall Dublin performance tomorrow. I'm not sure Kerry will reach the same heights that they reached the last day. But I think their individuals who didn't play well - the Geaneys, the Cliffords - they'll be more potent tomorrow."

He also added that if he were manager, he'd pick veteran forward Bernard Brogan for a place on the bench. The six-time All-Ireland winner had missed out on the match-day squad two weeks ago.

"Would I make room for Bernard Brogan? I think I would yeah," he said.

"But Jim [Gavin] and his management team are the ones looking at him, week in, week out. They must know is there a good 10 minutes in him, because that's all you're looking at."

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All-ireland Bernard Brogan Dublin GAA Gaelic Football Kerry Off The Ball Pillar Caffrey