Laois man Michael Dempsey is a key member of the current Kilkenny backroom team. The team's trainer 'cum selector insists that if the five-in-a-row is secured it'll be skill rather than fitness that'll do it for Cody's charges.

Michael Dempsey is long enough in the tooth to recognise that champions are invariably roosters one day and feather dusters the next.

As sure as Kilkenny hurlers have just two legs and two arms like the rest of us, some day, somewhere, somebody with stronger teeth and sharper teeth will come along and beat the Cats.

He ain't saying that Tipp will produce the strong spark and can of petrol to vaporise his adopted county at Croker in the coming days but he's extremely wary of what an on-fire Premier County is set to offer in this year's All-Ireland SHC final.

"No more than last year's final, I see this year's (final) as being a very tight match with nothing much between the teams the whole way through.

"They seem to be coming good at just the right time and the danger is that they will really hit the heights in the final which will make things very interesting."

Laois man Dempsey has the dual role of being the Cats' trainer and one of the team's selectors. Talk about having the inside track!

Ahead of big match day and the Kilkenny mentor has ice in his veins as he contemplates the unfolding of a 70 minute game that will arguably determine the face of hurling for years to come.

All belonging to the rest of Leinster, Ulster en bloc and Munster without exception are likely to be Tipp fans for the day when the opening whistle is sounded at Croker.

But if nothing brings people together better than a touch of 'they're all agin us', then Kilkenny will be an even more galvanised lot in this year's final. For his part, Dempsey isn't so sure that the Tipp lads will need to call upon the moral support of a country sans Kilkenny.

"Tipp are in the final on merit and they've benefited a lot in my mind from having come through the qualifiers.

"They say that a team can learn probably more from a defeat as they can in victory and I think Tipp will have learned from the Cork game.

"Tipp have already tasted defeat this year and have picked themselves up and that will have done their confidence, spirit and belief no harm at all.

"I think you can gauge the character of a side by how well they finish out matches and Tipp have proven themselves this year to be a team that can finish strongly and go right on 'till the final whistle."

As someone who's charged with putting the pep into Kilkenny's step, Dempsey could be forgiven for putting the message across that the Cats won't be out-sprinted at the death. Au contraire.

Far from adding to the iconic status they enjoy for their skills, Dempsey is decidedly backward about coming forward to talk up the Cats' fitness levels.

Indeed, he unashamedly pumps out the mantra that Kilkenny's prowess over recent years is rooted in their superior skills rather than any notion of superior fitness.

"All counties bar none really will have their players as fit as they should be for their most important matches of the year.

"Teams right across the provinces, in football as well as hurling, are prepared well and in that respect it's a pretty level playing field.

"Ultimately the winning and losing of hurling matches comes down to the respective skills of the two teams.

"The most important part of what goes into winning All-Ireland hurling titles is the degree of skill boasted by the successful team."

That said, the one-time Laois intercounty footballer who later managed his county's under 21 and senior players reckons that there are significant other links in the chain that bind teams to silverware.

For instance, he talks liberally about players' strength of character, their mental strength, commitment and ambition.

"These days when you're talking about fellas playing at senior intercounty level, you're talking about a lifestyle choice, no question about it.

"The commitment needed now is unbelievably and it takes a certain type of character to be able to give that level of commitment.

"Strength and conditioning, nutrition and so many other things come into play too but skill is the most important element in the equation."

The St. Joseph's (Laois) clubman has been an integral part of the Kilkenny hurling machine since teaming up in 2003 with current senior selector and then county U21 boss Martin Fogarty.

The Fogarty/Dempsey axis helped bring two All-Ireland U21 HC titles (2003/04) to the Marble County. The winning combination remains in situ.

When Castlecomer's Fogarty signed up to Brian Cody's charter in '05, Dempsey was invited into the senior fold as well.

Those privy to Dempsey's modus operandi as a mentor swear by his ability to "read the game" and make insightful proposals to effect a change in the pattern and flow of play in a game.

A lecturer in Carlow IT (where he is helping to oversee the roll out of a ground-breaking GAA-centred B.A degree), Dempsey plays down his own role(s) in the engineering of what is probably the greatest squad of hurlers ever assembled.

"We're lucky in that there's so many very good hurlers who are so talented and committed," says the midlander.

"There are a lot of people other than myself working in the background and we're just privileged to be able to work with the calibre of players who are there right now.

"It's a special group, made up of players of exceptional ability who give everything to their clubs as well as their county and who, despite all their success, haven't lost the run of themselves and have remained well grounded."

A growing injury list which includes Henry Shefflin and John Tennyson - among others - has left a squad teeming with talent a tad underdressed.

But Kilkenny's strength-in-depth one of the qualities that has helped define the county's success in recent times and Dempsey knows that no group of 15 players alone ever won an All-Ireland title.

"Injuries are an occupational hazard for any sportsperson and, sadly, there will be at least a couple of fellas from the squad who'll be missing out on the final and that's very unfortunate.

"All the likes of myself in the backroom team can do is support the injured player and help him come to terms with his disappointment and try and make him feel as much a part of the day (final) as possible."

Fast, furious and frenetic is how Dempsey sees this year's final panning out.
He firmly believes the destination of the spoils is more likely to come down to which team has the greater mental toughness in the final ten minutes rather than to a superior level of fitness on behalf of one team or the other.

In terms of fitness, the more seasoned Kilkenny players might be said to be in better physical shape than the young guns, he moots.

"The experienced lads would have built their fitness up gradually over the years and have a huge well of energy and resilience to fall back on," he opines.

Though he played a bit of junior club hurling with Milltown in his home county, Dempsey admits that his knowledge of the finer parts of the ancient game pale in comparison to the Cody's and Fogarty's of this world.

One wonders though how different it is training hurlers compared to footballers?

"To a certain extent, they are similar but in hurling there's a greater emphasis on repetitive drills where short, explosive bursts of speed are required.

"Footballers tend to cover more ground but speed is at the core of what hurlers are at and executing their skills at high speed."

Working closely with Noel Richardson on the players' strength and conditioning work is a labour of love for the Laois man.

He says he gets the same buzz from his current roles as he has done down the years working with the lowest profile players at club level.

"The fact that you're working with such elite players and they're so successful does add to the satisfaction of course."

Kilkenny aspire to the seal of greatness and all will be revealed in a matter of days.

Trust Michael Dempsey to be the fulcrum round which the Cats build their fitness to drive them on to what many see as their destiny. Tweet

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