Kevin McManamon's brother says he doesn't know how the Dublin star handled coming off the bench for so many years.

McManamon is expected to start in his first All-Ireland SFC final this Sunday when the Dubs look to defend the Sam Maguire Cup against Mayo and his older sibling Brendan says he'll be delighted to see manager Jim Gavin finally give him the nod.

"It's mad to think that after all the years he's played, that he hasn't been in the parade in September on a big day. He's been focused on that for the last four or five years," Brendan told the Irish Independent.

"He said to me in January that he wanted to start. He thinks he's good enough to start and he was going to keep chipping away until he got it. So it was only really a matter of time. I don't know how he dealt with it.

"He just always seemed to just get on with it. Jim kept telling him he'd a massive part to play and he wanted to finish with the best 15 at the end. He rallied in behind it and never complained."

He added: "Jim is putting a bit more trust in him this year. He's in his peak. In the last two years he's really stepped up and came out of the shadow of the super sub role that he had.

"I think the style of football that he plays - he gets the ball and he's very direct and lads are getting a bit tired as the match wearing on. He's just getting the ball and going at them. He's a torture for defenders.

"Kev comes on then full of life then running at them but he can do that from the start and he's proved that he can chip in with three or four points a game. He seems to always get them at the right time, whenever Dublin need a bit of a lift."

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