Eamonn Fitzmaurice: Shapeshifting Monaghan have the weapons to trouble Dubs

Eamonn Fitzmaurice described Monaghan as "excellent shapeshifters" and said they had weapons to trouble Dublin, so long as they didn't consider themselves in bonus territory.

Having struggled to find a manager in the off-season, favourites for relegation in spring, and after only finishing third in the group phase, Monaghan find themselves in an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time in five years and only their second in 34 years.

Vinny Corey's side finally overcame Armagh in a gruelling penalty shootout, after a grim arm wrestle of a match, with their legendary inside forward Conor McManus rescuing them by manufacturing and scoring a free in the dying seconds of extra time.

In their last All-Ireland semi-final in 2018, they were narrowly edged out by Tyrone, with many veterans of that effort still around.

While they will be heavy underdogs against Dublin, who rediscovered their blistering 2010s form in Sunday's quarter-final, Fitzmaurice said they have to go in with belief.

"Losing an All-Ireland semi-final is the worst game to lose," the former Kerry boss told the RTÉ GAA podcast.

"There's nothing to take from it. It's just a gut-wrenching disappointment to miss out on the biggest day of the year.

"The likes of Conor McManus, Rory Beggan, Jack McCarron, Karl O'Connell, the Hughes brothers, they've a very experienced cohort, they're going to be saying to the young lads, 'listen, this comes around every five/six years, sometimes longer, for the likes of us, we've a great group, we've a great manager, we've a brilliant coach, we've great spirit, we've good momentum, we've to cash this in when we get here.'

"Traditionally, I found it coming up against them, they are excellent shapeshifters. They're brilliant tactically.

"So