Dublin were unusually wasteful in possession by their high standards against Kerry today and that is something that will be examined by Jim Gavin and his backroom team ahead of the summer months.

Gavin emerged from a losing dressing room for the first time in two years and gave his take on their minimum margin loss.

"You couldn't fault the preparations," he told gaa.ie. "The team selection? Absolutely. That's my responsibility, we'd have to have a look at that. Did we start the right players did we bring the right players in.

"We worked the ball up the field and just turned it over needlessly. Kicked it away, hand passed it away, very uncharacteristic, but it certainly punished us. It put us in a very tough position going down the stretch.

"So it's ultimately my responsibility, but the preparations went very well this week, great energy, great focus by the players. So we knew it was going to be a very tense game. Which it turned out to be."

Turning his thoughts to the defence of their Leinster and All-Ireland crowns, Gavin concluded: "We have eight weeks to go until the Championship. We will regroup and go hard at it again.

"To find ourselves in National League Final is a bonus. Of course we wanted to perform and win today, it just didn't happen and we have to reflect on those reasons and as I said ultimately it's my responsibility."

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