Kerry have long way to go
He said yesterday that the manner of their victory, when they almost lost an eight points lead nearing the finish, indicated that they still have a lot of work to do.
"Look at the way we won, it was a struggle in the finish to hold on. There are at least six teams who will be there or thereabouts in the championship. And, the other teams are learning too. The next game for us is in Clare in three weeks time and we won't be looking beyond that," he commented.
Culloty and co-selector Ger O'Keeffe each had a particular reason for taking delight in the win. They were players when Kerry won the League for the 12th time exactly 30 years ago, under the captaincy of full-back Paud O'Donoghue. And, that campaign had begun with a defeat by Longford.
"When we lost to Longford in the first round back in February, you'd have been thinking 'it's unlikely we will win the League.' But, at the end of the day I have seen that happen before.
"There's no championship in us yet, but at the same time, we're making a bit of progress. We have introduced a share of new players into the panel and it seems to be working."
After Sunday's win in Croke Park, Ger O'Keeffe recalled a conversation he had with Culloty after the Longford defeat.
"Johnny and I said it after the game that it happened to us before, that maybe we might win the League. That was a tough, physical game and it was Longford's All-Ireland beating Kerry. We were unlucky to lose that day, but it 'steeled' our players and they determined not to let the year go by to lose matches in the last five minutes. We were ahead but we threw it away. Thank God it didn't happen against Galway."
County Chairman Sean Walsh agrees that the Longford game marked a watershed for the panel and the new management. "I keep reverting to that game and I have always maintained that we played great football that day. The players left the dressing room with their minds set that they were going to rise from that. Here they are, in the first week-end in May, with the League title under their belt. They played their hearts out between that Longford defeat and the final.
"They are well entitled to this victory. It will give the team a lift and it will give Jack (O'Connor) a lift. It means that you can now build for the championship and it's a lot easier with a winning team rather than when you are struggling to win games."
Walsh also acknowledged the significance of the victory, when measured against the defeat by Armagh in the 2002 All-Ireland final and the failure to Tyrone in last year's semi-final.
"That was mentioned before we left the dressing-room, that it was time for Kerry to win in Croke Park and it was stressed," he added.
"I don't think we got enough credit for our win over Limerick in the semi-final. That was a very intense game of football. We piled a lot of pressure on Limerick with 14 men to win that match against the wind in the second half and I don't think we got much credit for it. On Sunday we carried that same intensity into the match."
Pointing out that Kerry used over 30 players during the course of the campaign, Ger O'Keeffe said he had been very pleased to see John Crowley play 'an important role.'
"I know he is not the finished article yet, but he will be delighted, he has been struggling over the last couple of months. He needed an incentive and he has that after being part of a winning team."
For his part, Crowley appreciated the 'break' he got in getting into the team: "Hopefully I can press on from here, but I still have a lot of work to do with my work-rate if I can get my fitness right.
"Seven years was a long time to wait. But, we know we let Galway back into the game. It would have been a disappointing one to lose. But, at the same time we weren't that much better than them on the day. It was one of those games that could have gone either way.
"It's all in the melting pot in the championship and Galway are well there with us. We know that ourselves."
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