WHEN Eamon Fitzmaurice faced the media prior to Kerry's first Allianz National League meeting with Dublin back in January, he did so in the face of a big sense of pessimism about the Kingdom's chances heading up to Croke Park on the opening night.
It didn't turn out as bad as was feared by some in the county in terms of the final result, but there was still a noticeable gulf in class between the two sides on the night. It's something Fitzmaurice acknowledged when he spoke ahead of Kerry's league rematch with the All-Ireland champions in the Division One final at headquarters this Sunday: "Back in January, you would think that we were the team that won the All-Ireland the previous September and Dublin were the team with a point to prove, judging by how the match went.
"For any All-Ireland champions to have hunger like that in their first game of the new season is very impressive," he added.
Indeed, predicting Kerry would even make it to the league decider seemed a pipe dream after the subsequent loss to Roscommon in Fitzgerald Stadium. Six consecutive wins since then in the competition have changed the mood in the county to one of a lot more confidence about facing the Dubs on this occasion. James O'Donoghue and Anthony Maher will be the Kingdom's only big name absentees.
When asked what he felt turned Kerry's fortunes around, Fitzmaurice suggested it was something as basic as finding decent pitches to train on: "We had looked at getting one or two points from the opening two games in advance, but obviously it didn't work out that way for us.
"Definitely, an improvement in the weather allowed us to do some better work on the training front and I feel the three-game bloc we had in March was vital as well. Beating Down meant that we were looking up the table instead of below and I think, with each win we got after, we managed to make some sort of a statement by doing so," he said of the upturn in the Kingdom's fortunes.
Ahead of Sunday, Fitzmaurice has no problems saying Dublin are the best team in the country right now: "There's no mind games in me saying that, the facts back it up. They have not lost a league or Championship game since we beat them in Killarney in March of last year.
"They've won eight out of a possible nine trophies under Jim Gavin and the competition they have for places at the moment is keeping them all on their toes."
Fitzmaurice, though, has a good personal record in league finals as both a player and on the sideline - he's never lost one. He played in Kerry's victories over Galway in the 2004 and '06 deciders, while he was a selector under Jack O'Connor in the victorious '09 decider against Derry.
The 1916 pageantry, celebrating the centenary of the Easter Rising, might be a sideshow, but Fitzmaurice does feel it adds to Sunday's occasion: "There probably will be a bigger crowd there because of it and that will make it a better atmosphere to play in.
"What I like about Sunday is the fact there will be no shadow-boxing by either side and it will be a full-blooded affair. We've gotten a lot out of the league this year and we would like to finish it off with a trophy now."
