Ignorance is bliss as McGeeney and Cooper wait for semis
They don’t particularly like watching big games - more so if they are likely to face the victors.
At the weekend, for instance, neither star watched the All-Ireland football quarter-finals between Galway and Donegal and Tyrone and Fermanagh, despite the fact Armagh are scheduled to face the replay winners of the former while Kerry will play Tyrone, resounding victors of the latter.
Both men were in St Mary’s GAA Club in Caherciveen yesterday when Sports Minister John O’Donoghue announced funding to the tune of 1.34 million for the GAA to help get more people involved in their games.
McGeeney, who is a Programme Executive with the Irish Sports Council working with young people, admitted to watching flashes of the Galway-Donegal game.
“But I did not go along to Croke Park,” he said. “I know some of the lads went, particularly the corner backs would be interested as they would be marking man to man when they meet.”
He prefers not to watch the opposition beforehand. He leaves all that to the manager and obviously big Joe Kernan would have been taking a few notes at Croke Park on Monday.
“You could go along to the game and maybe, on the day, both teams would play badly or something. It might influence you. But the fact of the matter is that when you come to this stage in the championship - the quarter final stages - all the participants are bound to be good. They are the best so you know you are not going to get an easy game,” he said.
“I would prefer not to concentrate on the opposition but to go out there and concentrate on my own game and play to the best of my ability. That’s what it is all about.”
He admitted, however, that he might sneak a look at the Kerry v Tyrone semi-final when it comes around.
“That is going to be a very good game. They play a similar style of football,” he said insisting that the fact Kerry let in three late goals on Monday did not mean the Kingdom’s defence was suspect.
“Look, if you can score 1-21 you can afford to let in a couple of goals. I maintain a team should play to its strength and Kerry’s strength is in attack. They probably have nine of the best forwards in the country and Darragh Ó Sé is one of the best midfielders ever and they have free-scoring forwards.
“On the other hand we have to grind out our victories. People say that Armagh are most dangerous when coming from behind or that they like it that way. Try telling that to any of the players. From what we have seen over the past weekend we are probably bottom of the pile right now but we have a lot of very good players - the unsung heroes - who don’t often make the headlines but they are wholehearted players who give it everything.”
McGeeney said other counties have them too. Armagh had the likes of Enda McNulty and Francie Bellew, Kerry had Mike McCarthy, who did an enormous amount of work, and Tyrone had the likes of Ryan McMenamin.
“They are the forgotten heroes but they are the ones who win the games in the end,” he said.
Paídí Ó Sé was calling the Kerry team together for training last night but Colm Cooper was not expecting a hard session.
“Probably something light,” he said admitting that he too, like McGeeney, preferred not to watch the opposition beforehand.
“Some might like to watch for weaknesses or things like that but I prefer just to concentrate on my own game,” he said. “I did not watch either of the games on Sunday.”
McGeeney was the centre of attention until Cooper arrived at St Mary’s Park where he was mobbed by the participants in the Summer Camp.
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