I REMEMBER WHEN we played Donegal back in the 2011 quarter-final and it was just a smashing game of football. It was a great spectacle – obviously not from a Kildare point of view – with extra-time, floodlights, it really had a lot.

I remember thinking that Jim McGuinness had his lads well trained and they were disciplined but I never saw what was coming in their semi-final with Dublin.

That game – which Dublin won 0-8 to 0-6 – got a lot of criticism and I remember thinking to myself ‘Jaysis, is this the way the game is going’ but I think Donegal have really learned from that and pushed on and you can see the benefits of not just being a purely defensive team because they’ve won one All-Ireland and are 70 minutes away from another.

I also think Donegal have answered a lot of critics this year by bouncing back. Some people would have said they couldn’t do it again after putting so much into winning the one but they’ve proved those fears were unfounded and that’s a credit to Jim and the lads.

My only concern for Donegal, and it’s a slight one, is that the Dublin game may have become their final. I mean, you put so much effort into beating the defending champions and maybe some of your younger players are already thinking their job is done.

But I think that’s only a problem if you’re playing another county because, if it was anyone other than the Kingdom, Donegal would be going in as heavy favourites but the fact it’s Kerry means it’s a much closer game.

Michael Murphy during the 2011 quarter-final. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Build-up

You can’t protect players from the hype around the county and you can’t stop fellas coming up to them and telling them they’re the best player in the country so it’s easy to believe that when you’re going into an All-Ireland final.

Luckily for me, nobody apart from my mother ever told me I was the best footballer in the country!

But it’s true that everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to talk to you about the game. That’s only natural, but when you’re focused on your job you could nearly have a few sheets of paper in your pocket with the same answer on it to hand out to everyone who comes up to you because you end up reeling off the same thing anyway.

The flip side though, is that you want to enjoy it as much as possible, especially when success is few and far between. Donegal are doing well at the moment but they are a long way from Kerry in terms of All-Ireland wins so it’s no surprise that these are all still brilliant times for them.

But Jim will have his work done and when the players cross the white line it’s up to them to make sure their head is in the right place. Their natural instinct should kick in and they can do their talking on the field. The rest of the slideshow can take care of itself.

Huge credit

Eamonn Fitzmaurice has probably had to cope with a different sort of pressure but he deserves huge credit for what he’s achieved this year, especially with the loss of the Gooch, Tomás Ó Sé, Paul Galvin and the rest.

I really couldn’t see how they were going to replace those players who, between them, have bags of All-Ireland medals. Regardless of their football ability, they were huge leaders on the field and massive characters within the set up.

But sometimes, like Kerry this year, when you do leave a void it gives a young lad a chance to step up and become a leader. I certainly didn’t see it coming in such a short space of time – they’re still a year or two off their peak – but all credit to them for it.

With Kieran Donaghy starting, I’m not sure we’ll see the type of game many people would associate with Kerry. People have this expectation that Kerry are this free-flowing, kick-passing team but the truth is those lads would knock over their own granny to get the win.

Donaghy gives Kerry two further options, both of which can cause Donegal problems in and around the square. They’ve only 15 men so how many are they going to commit to kepping an eye on him. If they don’t put enough, Kerry will drop long balls in that he can win and distribute to the other inside forwards.

But if they put too many back it leaves a big gap for the half-forwards to run into so it’s a fascinating tactical battle, between two of the most tactically astute managers in the business so it’s nearly like a game of chicken, whoever blinks first will lose.

Kieran Murray / INPHO Kieran Murray / INPHO / INPHO

Result

There’s an awful lot more questions than answers going into this game and the yardstick I’d normally use is the semi-finals but they were both great at that stage so how do you choose?

It’s tough, I’m sitting more on the fence than I’ve ever done on this one.

The only way I can think is to look for reasons why I think one might lose and I’d probably just give the nod to Donegal because they’ve that bit more experience and I just feel they’re on a mission.

As Jim has said a lot lately that good teams win one, great teams win two so that might be the edge they need.

Castlehaven, Dr Crokes and Corofin amongst the teams in 2014 Kilmacud Football Sevens

So Paddy Power have erected a 12ft ‘Jim The Redeemer’ statue outside Croke Park