Dublin fell to another defeat in the Allianz Football League on Sunday, going down 1-12 to 0-12 against Kildare in Newbridge.
Taking into account their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Mayo last year, it is a fifth consecutive loss for Dessie Farrell's side. It's a run of form which the Dublin manager is struggling to explain.
"It's a difficult one," Farrell told RTÉ Radio One's Sunday Sport.
"Is it a little bit of cohesiveness? Some newer players are in the mix. There are some older players to return from injury, which will give us more options, and be a big boost.
"It's hard to figure it out. All we can do is try to navigate our way through this. Sometimes through adversity comes great strength.
"Dublin are in a very different position to previous years. We understand the reality of that. We just have to work harder than we have before. To be fair to the players, they're very committed. Their attitude has been great. We'll keep going at it."
27 February 2022; Kildare players Aaron O'Neill, left, and Daragh Ryan celebrate after their side's victory in the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Kildare and Dublin at St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Farrell felt that Dublin's finishing let them down against Kildare.
"I thought it was game we probably should have got something out of," he said.
"It's the finest of margins. We had maybe three good goal chances. We didn't execute. They had one and they took it. That was the difference.
"I thought our first half performance, against a really strong breeze, was good, solid for 25 - 30 minutes. They eked out a couple of scores in the last five or six minutes. We went in four points down, happy enough with that.
"Conceding the goal against the run of play was a killer. We didn't convert any of our own goal chances. Execution, generally, was poor today. It's been a trend over the last couple of games."
Relegation possibility for Dublin
Relegation is now a real possibility for Dublin. They are bottom of Division 1 with no points, two behind Monaghan in seventh and three off Kildare in sixth. Their remaining games are away to Tyrone, at home to Donegal, and away to Monaghan.
"We can't focus on outcomes or consequences," said Farrell.
"It has to be about the next performance, and game-by-game has to be the mantra for us, while trying to layer in the learnings from past games into the next performance."
Featured image: 27 February 2022; Dublin manager Dessie Farrell before the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Kildare and Dublin at St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
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