Jim Gavin has admitted that he didn't expect to be facing Fermanagh in Sunday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

Kildare's surprise win over Cork in Thurles last Saturday - a game which Gavin attended - threw a spanner in the works for the Dublin manager, who has been busy doing his homework on Pete McGrath's charges this week.
 
"Yeah, a lot of work was done over the last few days researching Fermanagh," he said at yesterday's press briefing.

"They haven't come across our radar before. We have been very impressed with what we have seen. [They're] a team that has played with a lot of structure. They have Pete McGrath, a man that I would have huge admiration for with all he has achieved in football going back to Burren in the 1980s.

"He came across our paths in '09 with the U21s. He had good success there with Down. Obviously his legacy is '91 and '94 with the Down senior football team, that breakthrough for Ulster teams and they have obviously blazed a trail ever since.

"Pete, the way he carries himself like all good leaders, he is humble as he goes about his business. He has always said that it is a players' game and that he is there to facilitate it and empower people.

"That's the way he has this Fermanagh team playing and with a lot of structure in defence. They are very composed on the ball and they pick their moments to attack and they have been very fruitful in doing that. Their Division 3 record and promotion speaks for itself and the way that they have dispatched Roscommon and Westmeath was quite impressive."

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