Mick O'Dwyer is not inclined to count his chickens before they are hatched. He is far too experienced a man. And yet he gives the impression that his Kildare charges have matured greatly under his guidance over the past few years and that they can take the Leinster football title for the first time since 1956, when they beat Wexford by 2-11 to 1-8.

"These days very little divides teams at this level," he said. "The fact about the matter is that both Kildare and Meath have improved quite a bit since last year.

"I believe that Kildare have improved more than Meath after last year's championship experience. Even though we still have a quite young team, there is a lot of experience and I believe that we can put that experience to good use on Sunday." It would be difficult to imagine O'Dwyer saying anything else. As he told this reporter last year: "I am obsessed with football. Some people go for drink or women or drugs. I go for football and I can't imagine my life without it."

Having sat at a bar in a Killarney in 1982 until the wee small hours of the morning following Kerry's defeat for their five-in-a-row odyssey, O'Dwyer's determination to understand how it had come to an end was palpable. Surrounded by profoundly disappointed players and supporters and drinking nothing more powerful than orange juice, he had an ear for every point of view in an attempt to explain how Kerry lost that match in such dramatic circumstances to Offaly. Nowadays he seems to accept that matches can turn on chance events. "A ball comes back off a post or the crossbar, a ball is deflected . . . little things like that can swing a match one way or another. In many ways these are what the game is about and no matter how you try to rule them out they still happen.

"On Sunday next we are hoping that we can win on merit against a very strong Meath side. We have several top-class players such as Buckley, Ryan, Rainbow and others but then Meath can match us.

"Our midfield with Buckley and McCreery could sway the match our way but Meath may feel the same. Midfield is still an important part of the game, although some teams try to rule it out by carrying the ball from the defence along the wings."

O'Dwyer doesn't rule out the possibility of another draw for Kildare. "We know this will be our most difficult test since last year but we are no longer there to be brushed aside and we have every confidence that we can make the breakthrough in Leinster and maybe go further," he said. He forecasts victories for Galway and Kerry in the Connacht and Munster finals.

"Tipperary have made great strides in recent years and they have several top-class players. All the same I believe that Kerry have improved since last year and it would be a major shock if they were beaten. "I can't ever remember playing in Thurles, which we have always associated with hurling, but I'm sure the Kerry lads will enjoy playing on such a fine pitch and I know that they are feeling confident of winning and retaining the All Ireland title."

O'Dwyer said a dry pitch would suit Galway after the wet conditions of the first match against Roscommon.

"I feel that Roscommon have improved quite a bit after two hard matches against Sligo and also against Galway in the drawn final. The weather was terrible that day and I think that Galway, on a dry day and on a better pitch, will be hot favourites to go through. "As far as our own match between Kildare and Meath is concerned, I would not be surprised if it ended in a draw. There is very little difference between the sides as I see it right now but, naturally, we are going all out for victory."

Always pragmatic, Mick O'Dwyer does not reveal any plan of campaign but he shares with many others a hope that Kildare can make a long-awaited break-through - and that better days lie ahead.