By Shaun Casey

FORMER Dublin footballer Dean Rock believes Armagh will “relish” the huge games that are coming down the track and as All-Ireland champions, they’ll be keen to back up last year’s success.

Kieran McGeeney’s Orchard County travel to Croke Park on Sunday for the first time since collecting Sam Maguire last summer. It’s a top of the table clash in the group stages, with Dublin also hoping to go two from two.

Rock, who won eight All-Ireland medals during his playing career with the Dubs, can’t understand how Armagh have been written off so much at this point.

“It’s so strange for the All-Ireland champions to be written off and dismissed as much as they have been and I wouldn’t be too concerned with maybe their inconsistency throughout the league because they’re coming off the back of that All-Ireland win,” said Rock.

“You do get a bit of scope when you are All-Ireland champions to have those off days. I think they have a really strong squad, they’ve added a couple of players to it this year and as All-Ireland champions, I think they’ll relish coming back to Croke Park this weekend.

“They have that bit of confidence and that bit of swagger about them now that you only get from winning an All-Ireland. They’ll relish the big games and I think we’ll start to see the best out of Armagh in the coming weeks when the stakes are at their highest.”

Rock knows a thing or two about retain the All-Ireland title having played a key role in the history-making Dublin side that won six in a row. He believes that Armagh can go all the way and retain the Sam Maguire.

“The first thing you need is that competitiveness in the squad and you need to be adding that one or two new players each year. That just gets everyone else to raise their standards by little percentages that ultimately will make the difference,” he added.

Dean Rock in action against Armagh

“A lot of it is just the baggage that goes along with it and the celebrations and everything else but the way the structure is now, the All-Ireland was a long time ago now. When we were playing, we were winning All-Ireland’s in October and back to training in January.

“I think Armagh, in many ways, last year is completely gone now. They’re very much on a pursuit to go back to back and they have as good a chance as anyone. I don’t think anyone has really lit up the championship yet.

“I think you could throw a blanket over six, seven or eight teams and on any given day they could all beat each other. The championship hasn’t been like that in a number of years in terms of, on the day, who knows how it’s going to go.

“I would say the new rules suit Armagh particularly in Croke Park, they have fast guys up there who can really do a lot of damage so I do expect to see the best of Armagh in the next couple of weeks and they have a right shot to go back to back.”