Philly McMahon says he doesn't care what accusations are levelled at him as long as Dublin win.

The combative Ballymun Kickhams clubman, who has been accused of gouging Kerry captain Kieran Donaghy's eye during Sunday's All-Ireland final, says his job as a defender is to "go to war" on his opponent when the action commences:

"If I get all these accusations against me and I win an All-Ireland, I don't give a s**t," he told The Irish Independent. "It's a tough game, playing as a defender and I've so much respect for defenders, and especially Dublin defenders. When we step up and we mark, we look the man in the eye and we're saying, 'We're going to war today, me and you, and let's see who comes out on the top end'.

"We don't have seven or eight men in our defence supporting us, we go man-on-man and go to war. That's what I love about the set-up we have and it really does make you want to be better as a defender."

Referring specifically to the Donaghy incident, McMahon insists there was "no intention" on his behalf to make contact with the Tralee man's eye: "I don't have to say how the conditions were and when the ball dropped, I went in to put my hand in and there was no intention to go for his face.

"He's a big man to get around. I couldn't even see if the ball was there the second time I went in. But there was no intention there, and I'm sure the officials saw that as well. Look, this is Gaelic football, we get stuck into each other when the whistle is blown and we shake hands after it. But definitely no intention in what I did there."

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