Second chance Offaly soon

CLARE’S John Kennedy has become the latest inter-county manager to express annoyance at the format of the Bank of Ireland All-Ireland SFC qualifiers.

Six days after suffering a defeat to neighbours Limerick in the Munster semi-final, Kennedy’s charges are back in action against Offaly in the qualifying round at Cusack Park. The Kerry native is non too happy with the timing of the make or break encounter.

“It’s not a level playing field as far as I’m concerned,” said Kennedy. “After the rigours of a championship semi-final, and in particular a local derby, a teams needs at least a fortnight to recover.

“It takes at least three to four days for players to soften out. You then need a couple of days to iron out the problems you had in the game, but we just don’t have the time to do anything, and that cannot be right”.

Kennedy stressed that his side did not play to their full potential in the meeting against Limerick. However he views tomorrow’s game as the ideal opportunity for his team to prove their true worth.

“We were going well up to the time of the sending off, but Limerick lifted their game up a couple of notches and we didn’t respond. A huge effort had been put in by the players in the build up to the game, but as so often is the case, it’s how you perform on the day that really matters.

“We made elementary mistakes which led to their two goals, and you’ll always get punished for those at this level. In one instance we had three players going for the one ball, and it broke to a Limerick man who took his chance.

“After the game there was huge disappointment all round, and heads were down. However we have been given a second chance, and if I’m to judge by the players this week, they are hell bent on making amends.

“They know now that they need a performance against Offaly tomorrow if they are to redeem themselves in the eyes of their supporters, and while recognising that Offaly will be very difficult opponents, there is a realisation among the lads that they can win, and there’s no knowing what could open up for them after that.

“Offaly will see us as not too difficult an opponent even though they must come to Cusack Park. They ran Laois so close in Leinster and look where they are now. Football is like that. One good victory and things tend to take off.”

Kennedy, who won a hat trick of All-Ireland titles with Kerry in the mid eighties, believes that Clare football is in good health and hopes that others will share that belief late tomorrow evening.

“Clare didn’t play to their potential against Limerick which is what disappointed me most. I remain convinced that our football is as good as what’s around. The players are there and they are as committed as any of the top teams, it’s just a case of producing it on the day it matters most.

“Tomorrow we are getting the chance to redeem ourselves. Home advantage should be worth a couple of scores to us, but this is a very experienced Offaly team which is still hurting from that defeat by Laois in a replay, and we have to be on our guard against a backlash.

“I would rate Offaly as one of the top five teams in the country, and a win against a quality team like them would do wonders for the confidence of our players.

“Winning builds confidence and if we could string a couple of good results together there is no knowing where it might lead to. However first things first.”