Kilmacud Crokes attacker Dara Mullin says he and his team mates will step up in the absence of star forward Paul Mannion for Saturday’s All-Ireland club SFC final against Kilcoo.

Mannion underwent surgery after picking up a knee injury during Crokes’ run to the Leinster final and is not expected to play a part in this weekend’s showdown with the Down champions at Croke Park.

Speaking to RTE Sport ahead of the decider, Mullin described the three-time All Star as “a huge player” for Crokes but feels they can get over the line in two days’ time without him.

"Obviously, we'd prefer to have Paul playing if we could, given the quality of player he is, but such as the situation that we're in," he said.

"As a forward (division) united we just took it upon ourselves to raise our game an extra couple of percent.

"There has been more of an even spread of scores around the place and everyone's just kind of realising that they need to step up to the plate and take on a little bit more responsibility in his absence.

"He is such a quality player that most of the time when he gets the ball a score comes from himself or through someone else.

"He's been a huge player for us in the past. But I suppose come Saturday, as the six forwards we're just trying to get as many scores as we can and help the team to get the right result.

"We've played two games without him now but I think I think we have improved, and there still is more room for improvement. I think we're going in the right direction."

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