Cian O'Sullivan admits that Dublin didn't reach the performance levels they would have wanted to during the Allianz League but he says he's hopeful that the team have learned from some of their underwhelming defeats.
The Sky Blues suffered losses against Tipperary, Limerick and Galway and while they wouldn't have been favourites for any of those games, the nature of the losses was the big take away for small ball followers in the capital.
Tipp came to Parnell Park and won comfortably at a venue that they've sometimes struggled at in the last 15 years, while the Dubs failed to lay a glove on the All-Ireland champions.
Perhaps the defeat against the Tribesmen at Salthill was the most frustrating as the Micheál Donoghue's team played themselves into contention, only to be outscored by 0-10 to 0-01 in the last 20 minutes.
This Sunday Dublin open their Leinster SHC campaign away to Wexford in a game seen by many as potentially season-defining for both counties.
If there is to be a loser, they'll face an uphill task to make the top three in the provincial table and progress to the All-Ireland series, with clashes against Galway and Kilkenny to come for both.
"When you're on a pitch to be honest the game can sometimes move by you," O'Sullivan said this week at a StayCity aparthotel event.
"It's not until ten or 15 minutes after at you realise that, 'ok we left that behind us there' or 'that should have been done differently, and that was a real chance.'
"We probably could have capitalised better on our second half against Tipp and then going down to Galway and not coming away with some sort of result after a reasonably decent performance for 50 minutes and then they just got on top of us for the last 15.
"At the end of the day you just have to take your learnings from it, and I think we have done over the last five or six weeks, we’ve put in a good shift. All things are moving well in the camp and I’m just looking forward to getting back on the road."
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Pushed on what some of those "learnings" might be, the St Brigid's man adds: "I suppose awareness on the pitch would be the main one. I mean we went a man up against Galway and didn't really capitalise on that.
"And then referring back to the Tipp game, we had the wind on our backs and didn't really take the opportunities when they were there to get a goal or tag a few points on in a row.
"I think most of the weight is throw back on the players and rightfully so, you have to be aware of what’s going on, on the pitch and you can’t just be a robot. Every team has their game plans but you can’t just live by the sword.
"There’s a lot of things that they management can change on the sideline from what they see on the pitch but at the end of the day the ball is in right in front of you."
The positives to come out of the league for Dublin were the return of free-taker Donal Burke, who had been absent for club and county since last year's All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Clare. Danny Sutcliffe got plenty of game time, while former captain Chris Crummey returned after a year of travel.
The big question coming out of the league was the fitness of Eoghan O'Donnell, with the Whitehall man absent for the entire campaign after injuring his hamstring in the Walsh Cup. A fantastic full-back, O'Donnell has also been deployed as a forward for his club.
Might that be an option for Donoghue if the 28-year-old isn't fully fit, and the game is going against Dublin with 15 minutes to go on Sunday? It all remains to be seen.
Dublin's record against Wexford has been impressive in the modern era, with just one championship defeat in their last eight games stretching back to 2009.
That loss came at Chadwicks Wexford Park in 2018, the venue for Sunday's opener. The Wexford People reports that the hosts will be close to full strength, with Lee Chin and Rory O'Connor back to full training, and goalkeeper Mark Fanning also involved once more this year.
The big absentees for the Yellowbellies are likely to be Charlie McGuckin, Dee O'Keeffe and Liam Ryan.
"Comparing the two teams, Wexford have had a pretty decent league campaign, with regards to a new management and new players coming in," O'Sullivan adds.
"I'd say any outsider would say Dublin in underperforming at the moment, and that’s fair enough; all you have to do is look at the league table results."
"There's confidence there in the camp when everyone is firing and everyone is doing what they're expected to do, we can put it up to anyone"
While Wexford's 2024 has been more impressive than Dublin's, O'Sullivan says that, before a sliotar has been pucked, they do have some ideas as to what they want to achieve in the next few months.
"Last year we drew with Galway in Croker and then we had a poor enough display against Kilkenny down in Nowlan Park," he points out.
"You kind of want to be getting to the Leinster final. That's something that every team is really targeting at the moment because that sets your platform then to go on to an All-Ireland semi final.
"I think there's confidence there in the camp when everyone is firing and everyone is doing what they’re expected to do, we can put it up to anyone.
"We’ve had a few very good challenge games in the last couple of weeks. We’ve had a few very good training sessions. Bit of bite to them. That’s all that’s needed really to drive on for the championship."
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