Kerry fear back door trap door
O'Connor admits that a straight path through to the quarter-finals is "paramount", admitting: "A team on the road as long as some of our lads would find it hard to go through the back door, psychologically as well as anything else."
Ahead of Sunday's Munster final against old rivals Cork, he added: "I can see in the players' body language they are treating this as a once-off game. We are going flat out, we're not thinking of All-Irelands, we're thinking of a Munster Championship but victory would also enhance our chances of progressing further down the road."
This could be a final shot at the All-Ireland for a quartet of the Kingdom's longest-serving players Liam Hassett, Seamus Moynihan, Dara Ó Cinnéide and Darragh Ó Sé and the coach agrees that the prospect or Cork in Páirc Ui Chaoimh has focused minds in the Kerry camp.
"I see a bite in the training that wasn't there beforehand. The training has been fruitful since the Limerick game, maybe that was the jolt we needed.
"We're on the road a while, and Kilkenny's hurlers found out last year that they might have been better beating Wexford in Leinster when it came to the All-Ireland final against Cork, they looked like a side that had one game too many."
Kerry will select their side this evening, and are relieved to have footballer of the year Tomás Ó Sé available for selection after he was cleared by Croke Park's CDC of striking a Limerick player in the semi-final.
O'Connor said: "Our stance has been vindicated, because Tomás was more sinned against than he was a sinner the end of the incident was seen, but there was more to it than that and we were able to prove that through additional video evidence.
"This body [CDC] was set up to look at incidents that weren't seen at the time. But we contended the linesman had a fantastic view he was 10 to 15 yards away, right in front of him, and he was up with play. We felt the linesman made a call on the incident, that the Limerick players transgressed more than Tomás.
"I'm all for discipline, but if officiating is taken out of the hands of the guys who are on duty on the day, you are in serious difficulty and open all sorts of possibilities."
The Kerry coach accepted that the reliance on Colm Cooper for scores against Limerick was a concern, but he stressed that not every attacker was there to score.
"I don't have a major problem with forwards not scoring, as long as they are working and contributing. If their work rate and their heads dropped, then you might have a problem. But we do need to get a better spread because the day might come when we will be without Colm Cooper."
O'Connor and selectors Ger O'Keeffe and Johnny Culloty have lost only four competitive games since taking over from Páidí Ó Sé at the beginning of last season. Three of those were one-point League defeats to Donegal, Tyrone and Longford, the fourth a dusting from Cork in Páirc Ui Rinn.
"They're fine and quiet. They were doing a lot of talking last year, but they're not saying much this time. But in many ways, it's an easier game to prepare for.
"By the time we leave Páirc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday, we'll know where we are at.
"There's a bit of spin lately about us having this ferocious panel. You can still only pick 15, and you have to get the right balance between experience and fellas going well. There's no exact science to it," O'Connor added.
Seamus Moynihan has played a full part in training and is available for selection in defence, while a change at midfield is likely, with Paddy Kelly struggling with an ankle injury.
William Kirby may partner Darragh Ó Sé, though Kerry may push Eoin Brosnan back into midfield, and move captain Declan O'Sullivan to the 40 to accommodate the returning Dara Ó Cinnéide.
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