Jim McGuinness reckons Kerry's comparatively easy route to the latter stages of the championship is a big advantage.

The Kingdom are already through to the last four in the Sam Maguire Cup race and have barely been tested.

"Do they suffer from not having a competitive province and a recent history of undemanding All-Ireland quarter-finals? For me, that's an absolute gift! You're walking into a quarter-final and getting to work in training every single night without the black cloud of Tyrone coming down the track in six weeks and tapering preparations and making sure players are in the right place and that you don't overcook them," the former Donegal boss writes in The Irish Times.

"You're saying to the fellas that we have a quarter-final that's maybe not that difficult and then a semi-final - two games to get to an All-Ireland. That's a far cry from a preliminary round and thinking, 'we've got to win seven games to win the All-Ireland'."

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