Kieran Donaghy expects Cian O'Neill's assertion that Kildare will beat Dublin on Sunday to come back to haunt him.

O'Neill was bullish about his side's chances against the All-Ireland champions after their facile Leinster SFC quarter-final replay victory over Longford last weekend, but Donaghy feels there is no basis for such fighting talk.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with talking up your own team before a championship game," the Kingdom great wrote in the Irish Daily Star.

"I like the method, like the idea, but there is a problem. O'Neill has got the timing completely wrong. Making such a claim before a game with the Dubs just doesn't make sense.

"I'd like to have heard O'Neill say something like that before the replay with Longford or before a lot of Kildare's league games. But this is the one match where you just can't say it because there's no substance to it.

"Everyone knows there's no evidence to back it up. If Kildare keep it tight in the first quarter, they might 'only' lose by nine or 10 points. 

"But if they're not on it from the start, it will be a long day for them and a 14 or 15-point Dublin win would be no surprise to me at all."

Follow the hoganstand.com live match tracker this weekend for latest score and minute-by-minute updates from the football and hurling championships.

Tweet

Most Read Stories