By Paul Keane

He joined the All-Star club in November, just weeks after Dublin's successful and historic defence of their All-Ireland football title, yet ambition continues to burn strong within Jonny Cooper.

The 26-year-old is brutally honest when he admits that being dismissed for a black card offence early in the final replay win over Mayo tainted the achievements and that he is determined to atone.

Lining out in the Dublin full-back line, Cooper was sent off by referee Maurice Deegan for what was deemed a deliberate cynical foul on Mayo's Donal Vaughan.

James McCarthy received a similar sanction early in the drawn game though, crucially, was afforded a replay to redeem himself while Cooper was left with a winter of personal regret.

"It probably left a sour taste at the end of 2016 for me and gives me the bit between my teeth to get a jersey to try and play a bit more this year," said Cooper. "One half of me was thinking, 'yeah, okay, the next man up will go in and do a job' and he did it better than I probably could have done it.

"The other half of me was thinking I'm there to show people what I've been working for and to try and show people what I can do. So it was a little bit bittersweet for me."

Asked if it takes the shine off the historic back to back of All-Ireland wins, for him at least, Cooper nodded.

"Yeah, it probably does for me personally," said the Na Fianna man. "I have my own standards for performance and those sorts of things. Coming off after a very short amount of minutes wouldn't be one of them. So yeah, a little bit. But it gives me a drive to clean up. I wasn't in a great mindset. They had just scored a goal down this end and I think it was the next play or within the next 30 seconds."

Cooper has yet to return to Dublin duty as boss Jim Gavin has handed over the reins to Paul Clarke and what is essentially a development panel for the Bord na Mona O'Byrne Cup. Against all odds they have reached the final and will take on Louth in Drogheda on Sunday. You get the feeling that Cooper would love to be involved.

"I didn't want the year to end, to be honest," reflected Cooper. "The way it turned out for me, I was just growing and growing. I had a lot more in me than I was able to show in a 15-minute period in that game. So yeah, a successful season collectively and personally but a lot of room for improvement after that."

The Dublin senior panel returned to training in the last fortnight following their team holiday to Jamaica. Cooper said that as far as he knows there has been no retirements meaning Denis Bastick, their 35-year-old midfielder, is set for another season in blue.

The three-time All-Ireland medal winner accepted there is a small 'risk' that Dublin will be undercooked for the beginning of their challenge for five Allianz league titles on the trot. They play newly promoted Cavan on Sunday week, their first game of 2017.

"We're trying to replicate it in training," said Cooper of the competitive fare offered by the Bord na Mona O'Byrne Cup. "It mightn't have the same bite as you might have in pre-season competitions. Maybe a bit of a risk but at the same time we had a long 2016 so Jim wanted to give us all the necessary break and as a result we came back a little bit later."

Cooper rejected the suggestion that opting out of the pre-season competition, with their All-Ireland winning panel at least, is a sign that Dublin won't be giving the same priority to the league this year after several punishing seasons.

"No, I wouldn't say that's the case at all," he said. "The league is always a priority for us. It's just the timing of it this year, we're only back a couple of weeks but I think the priority will always be the same. As individuals in the national league, it's always about trying to get a jersey for the Championship. I would see that being no different this year."

Dublin have handed game time to 29 players so far in January - including the Dubs Stars challenge on New Years Day - and stand-in boss Clarke has suggested that as many as eight of them could make the Allianz league panel.

"A lot of those guys would have been watching from the outside over the last number of years and wanting to play and wanting to get into squads and now they have an opportunity, not only to get games but to win," said Cooper. "They're showing character and showing skill to match it, to beat Kildare at the weekend and the other teams they've beaten."

“In attendance at the 2017 Allianz Football League Launch in Croke Park were Donnchadh Walsh of Kerry and Jonny Cooper of Dublin. Kerry face Donegal in the opening round of the Allianz Leagues while All-Ireland champions Dublin will begin their Allianz league defence against Cavan, both on February 5th at 2pm. This year, Allianz celebrates 25 years of sponsoring the Allianz Leagues. Visit www.allianz.ie for more.”