Careful Kernan bides his time
JOE KERNAN isn't in the business of educating the Armagh public on the harsh realities of sport, specifically as they relate to All-Ireland champions.
But, for anybody who cares to listen to what he says, the lesson is clear.
Don't judge the team on what they did to Dublin in Croke Park last Sunday in the opening round of the Allianz NFL, or what they may do against Munster champions Cork in Crossmaglen this weekend. Wait until later to see if they can be as successful.
"There's an awfully long way to go. Some supporters are getting carried away already,'' he says. "But, common sense will tell you that what happens in January doesn't happen in May,''
His more immediate concern is that the Crossmaglen pitch will be in good order - following recent snow - to take the game. While it was the venue for the GOAL challenge a few days after the All-Ireland victory, Sunday's game will have special significance for home supporters.
And, after the club finished off a 1200-seater stand towards the end of last year, Kernan agrees that it will be nice to see a big crowd in Cross.
Additionally, he is depending on the co-operation of the British army, which has a base nearby. "Let's hope the helicopters stay at bay for once,'' he added.
Whatever about the eventual outcome, few people could have predicted an 11-point win over Dublin in Croke Park last Sunday. Kernan himself didn't really expect it.
"From what I understand Dublin did an awful lot of training over November and December, even in January. And I know that they trained hard out on their holiday (in South Africa). Maybe they had tired legs. In fairness to our boys, I was pleased the way they played. All we wanted was two points and to win the match and everything else was a bonus.''
The immediate aim will be to gain as many points as possible.
Longer-term the priority will be to strengthen the panel. As the heir apparent, Paul Hearty has taken over the goalkeeping role from Benny Tierney and seems certain to stay there.
Now the competition is on between Kieran McKinney and Willie McSorley for the reserve position. There will also be a few places up for grabs in the panel.
"The more we learn about ourselves during the league, the more we'll know for the championship. And, until we play in the championship, you won't know if we are up for it this year or not,'' adds Kernan.
"We rested players last year and we'll certainly do it again. Already a few players have said they intend taking breaks.
"Over the next seven or eight weeks I'm sure we will use all of the subs we have and hopefully continue on our winning ways.
"We have 28 players on the panel. We normally keep 30. The U21s will be starting off shortly and we'll be looking at them to see if we can pick another one or two,'' he says
Winning the league is not an ambition right now. Kernan makes the point that nobody goes out to lose a match, and readily accepts that there may be hitches along the way.
"At the end of the day we'll just take each match as it comes. If we can perform to a fairly good level and keep winning, so be it.
"But, I'm not stupid enough to think they are going to go through a year and not lose matches.
"We have to look at things when they happen. If you look at the group we are in, every one of these teams that we are playing against are potential All-Ireland candidates.
"It might have finished up easily on Sunday, but there won't be too many more matches like that,'' he says.
Cork's fiery display against Kerry impressed him. "Once they got going they certainly knew where the scoreboard was and where the net was,'' he said.
"Over the years we have had some great games with Cork and there was never much between us. Both teams like to attack and certainly scores win games. If the weekend games are anything to go by, it will be a high-scoring match,'' he says.
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