O'Leary eager to bag another title

The reason is of course that Dublin will be providing the opposition, and he says there is always something special about playing them in a big game. "In terms of the atmosphere they bring to a game, it's always nice to be involved against them, and you'd certainly like to be on the winning side in a league final when Dublin are in the opposite corner.

"But they are going to be a very hard team to take down, because they have caught up with the top teams physically at this stage, their work-rate is massive, and they are playing excellent football at the moment. Their record in the league so far speaks for itself, and we will have to be at the top of our game up there in Croker in order to get the job done," he contends.

The lion-hearted Kilnamartyra clubman is happy enough with Cork's form overall in the league up to now, however, stating it was always going to be hard to qualify for the final. " We started training later than most other teams, and we had four tough away games to deal with, so it's certainly a good sign that we have advanced to another final, and we're delighted to be there.

"I suppose the biggest thing is that competition for places is still very intense, fellas are pushing hard to break in, while other fellas aren't resting on their laurels, aware that if they do they won't be on the team for long. When you have that, you normally wouldn't be too far away, and I suppose it isn't too surprising that we are in the final again.

" Whether we can win it remains to be seen, but I still think it's been a good league for us, particularly when compared to years gone by, and I would have been involved in the bad times as well. We blooded a lot of players, and I thought they all did very well when they were given a chance," he remarked.

O'Leary agrees that Cork couldn't have asked for a stiffer test in their last competitive game prior to the championship, and he says it would give them a bit of momentum going forward if they come through it. "Dublin are the form-team, there is no question about that, but, to be honest, I wouldn't be too worried about it, because form on the day is the only thing that will matter in the final.

"Based on their league win over us, the evidence suggests they have improved significantly since we beat them in the All-Ireland semi final last year. But it's not about Dublin last year or it's not about Dublin in the league game against us this year.

"It's all about Dublin on Sunday, it's all about producing a performance on the day, and that's the way we are approaching this league final."