Éamonn Fitzmaurice: As a manager you are either under siege or it is coming

Anyone who dismisses the weekend's Munster and Connacht football finals needs to stand back and take a look at the bigger picture.

PROVINCIAL FINALS: In my experience, Ennis is always a tricky venue for Kerry. We usually dealt with them comfortably in Killarney or Limerick but Cusack Park was a different story.   Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

WHATEVER about the merits of the provincial championships in their current format, winning the two finals that are taking place on Sunday matters. Big time. Silverware always helps but Kerry will want that number one seed and Galway and Mayo remains one of the few genuine derby rivalries.

In my experience, Ennis is always a tricky venue for Kerry. We usually dealt with them comfortably in Killarney or Limerick but Cusack Park was a different story. As a player, we had a right battle with them in 2004, a couple of weeks after winning the league and on the way to the All-Ireland.