Going green to get gold

THERE's no easy way to tell a player he's not playing in an All-Ireland semi-final. "It's the least palatable part of the job," Kerry coach Jack O'Connor said yesterday.

Nevertheless, his management team, which features Ger O'Keeffe and Johnny Culloty, has earned a reputation for confronting difficult selection decisions - and getting them right.

"We live or die by the decisions we make," O'Connor agreed.

"Any manager will tell you that informing fellas they won't be playing is not nice. However, there is a general recognition that it's now more of a panel game."

Leaving out Dara Ó Cinnéide and Mike Frank Russell from Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Cork is a calculated gamble, all the more so when one of the replacements has never started a Championship game for Kerry.

"Up to now, we've been throwing in the young fellas late in the game. That's asking a lot of them, to show us what they can do in a short space of time, that adds to the pressure.

"This time, certainly in the case of Bryan Sheehan, we've turned that around, and we'll start him, and keep a couple of the more experienced lads in reserve."

There are few better-placed than O'Connor to assess 20-year-old Sheehan's big-match temperament.

He coached the St Mary's youngster during Coláiste na Sceilge's hat-trick of Corn Ui Mhuirí (Munster Colleges) football titles, with Sheehan captaining the most recent triumph.

"We were beaten by St Pat's of Maghera in the All-Ireland semi-final, and their best player was Mark Lynch, who now plays with Derry. Lynch and Sheehan would have been considered the best colleges footballers in the country, so he's been coming from a long way back. There's no fear of Bryan. He's gone 20, and he's represented Kerry up through the grades."

O'Connor confirmed Sheehan would be entrusted with the left-sided free-taking on Sunday, another reason for his selection in the absence of Ó Cinnéide and Russell.

The coach must smile wryly when he hears of Kerry's inability to cobble 70 minutes of consistent football together this year. The last time the county lost a Championship match was the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone - 12 games ago.

"I couldn't disagree with people who say we haven't been very fluent so far, but what does that mean? Pundits talk about the style of victory, but all that's important to the players is being one point in front at the finish.

"A lot of people are using the All-Ireland final last year against Mayo as a benchmark - that was just a day when everything came right for Kerry. But in the main, you are never going to dominate a team completely. You will get patches where you're on top, and it's up to the players to make those patches as productive as possible.

"Sometimes you have to dig out results, and every player must be prepared for that. There's no problem looking slick when things are going well and you're dominating a team, but it takes a different calibre of player to turn the tide when things are going against you."

Having an enviable recent Championship record also increases players' self-belief and reduces the capacity for panic when in arrears.

"We wouldn't have been happy with our first-half displays against Limerick or Mayo, but there was no panic in the dressing room on either occasion.

"Results bring belief. You might not have thought much of our Championship chances last year when we lost to Longford in the first game of the National League, but over the course of the season, you could see growing belief among the players.

"They know there will be periods of a game when they are under the cosh, when things aren't going well, but there has never been any sense of panic."

Panic no, but apprehension at the thought of Cork?

"It would spoil our year if we went out to Cork after defeating them in Páirc Ui Chaoimh in the Munster final. We felt at the time they'd be there or thereabouts. But it's a great game for us - when a team is on the road for a while, a lack of motivation can be a problem. That certainly won't be the case on Sunday."

If the chattering classes are to be believed, Kerry are struggling for form around midfield, and Cork were fancied to hold sway with Derek Kavanagh and Nicholas Murphy.

Kavanagh's unfortunate injury doesn't alter O'Connor's belief that another incline in form is called for.

"We'd feel there is more in us, but there has been a gradual improvement since the win against Mayo. And before that, there was an improvement since the Munster final. I'm confident we can go up another level, but I'm sure Billy Morgan says the same about his side."