Kerry won’t get caught Red-Handed
It’s a game that will decide whether they will be involved in the semi-finals a fortnight later but that won’t be the sole motivation, the coach said.
“We’ll be going really all out to win and we’ll worry afterwards if it’s enough to get us through or not.’’
In real terms, Tyrone are likely to advance irrespective of how they fare, for the reason that they are two points better off and have a 15-point advantage in scoring difference.
Kerry, in turn, are eight points better off than Mayo (level on points and facing Westmeath, who seem certain to be relegated). O’Connor suspects the Connacht champions may be in a better position to qualify on the basis of having “the easier game”.
“On paper, it looks like Westmeath would be gone at this stage and they are down on scoring average on Offaly. As regards our own game, we want to go out and win because we don’t want to lose in Fitzgerald Stadium.
“We’ll be motivated to win, that’s why we dug so deep last Sunday - because we wanted the Tyrone game to be meaningful. If we hadn’t won it then the game wouldn’t have a lot of significance,’’ he added.
When O’Connor was appointed manager in succession to Páidí Ó Sé, morale within the county was at a low following the loss to Tyrone in the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final.
It had as much to do with the way it happened as the worrying sequence of defeats, starting with the hammering inflicted by Meath in the 2001 semi-final. Mickey Harte joined in the chorus of criticism in his book Kicking Down Heaven’s Door, written after Tyrone went on to lift the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time and it was against that background that the Dromid Pearses man took over the reins.
“We won’t rake over that ground again, about Tyrone’s style or whatever,’’ he said when asked for his reaction back then.
“They have their way of playing football and they have developed a style of football that suits the type of players they have. That’s the only point I would make.
“Whatever type of players you have, you try to get the best out of them. Tyrone have a lot of pace in their team and a lot of mobility, and fellows like (Brian) Dooher can cover a lot of ground. That’s why he gets back and up and down the field. I have no problem with that, you play to your strengths. We might have different strengths and maybe we kick the ball a bit longer. Who is to say who is right or wrong?’’
Quite rightly, Kerry were widely praised for the manner in which they regained the All-Ireland last year, with county board chairman Sean Walsh proclaiming at annual convention that they had restored the image of Gaelic football. While acknowledging they got “a lot of credit”, O’Connor says they hadn’t played traditional football to keep people happy.
“We played it because it suited us,’’ he said. “If we had similar types of players to Tyrone we might play like them. I don’t go down the road of criticising anybody’s style (of play).
“Every manager looks at the players he has and develops a style to suit them. That’s a sign of a good manager and you have to credit Mickey Harte for getting the best out of Tyrone.”
And he doesn’t doubt that Sunday’s game will be difficult for Kerry to win, not least because of the way Tyrone play - but because of the way they can retain possession so easily. Any opposition that’s not prepared to work as hard “just won’t do”.
In terms of preparing for the championship, O’Connor admits the management’s success in using players like Mossy Lyons, and particularly Declan Quill, has the obvious advantage of further strengthening their panel. It worked out very much in their favour last season, he pointed out, when there was “tremendous competition” for places, which was reflected in the approach to training.
“The quality of our training was very good. That’s the bottom line.
“If people are wondering what’s going to keep this team hungry, there’s one thing that will certainly keep you hungry and that’s the fear of losing your place. And that’s a real factor in the set-up this year, in that different players have come in and done extremely well.
“We left Mossy Lyons out for one game - it was a difficult decision because he had been playing so well - but we needed to give Mike McCarthy football.
“Players know that if they drop their level they won’t be starting. That’s the one criteria we have. Once everybody understands that, they accept it. That’s the great thing, to have strength in depth like that.’’
O’Connor says they won’t rush Declan O’Sullivan back into action, preferring to give him time after recovering from knee surgery.
“The medical advice might be that he will need another few weeks away from it, but we’ll monitor him in training and see how he is.
“At the moment it’s unlikely that he’ll play some part on Sunday in a game of that intensity without having a bit more work, but we’ll see how he is tonight.”
Weekend’s NFL action
SUNDAY
Offaly v Dublin, Tullamore; Donegal v Cork, Ballyshannon; Kerry v Tyrone, Killarney; Mayo v Westmeath, Castlebar.
Kildare v Sligo, Newbridge; Wexford v Laois, Wexford Park; Galway v Down, Ballinasloe; Armagh v Limerick, Crossmaglen.
London v Clare, Ruislip, 1 p.m. Carlow v Fermanagh, Dr. Cullen Park; Leitrim v Roscommon, Cloone, 3.30; Monaghan v Longford, Clones.
Derry v Tipperary, Ballinascree; Waterford v Louth, Dungarvan; Meath v Cavan, Navan; Wicklow v Antrimn, Aughrim.
: Thurles CBS v St. Kieran’s, 2pm; St. Flannans v St. Brendans (Birr), 3.30 p.m.
: Colaiste An Spioraid Naoimh (Cork) v St. Mary’s (Galway), Kilmallock; Knockbeg (Carlow) v Omagh CBS (Tyrone), Navan.
: Charleville CBS v Galbally College, Templemore, 1 p.m.
: Abbey CBS v Mountbellow, Templemore, 2.30 pm.
: Hamilton HS (Bandon) v Aloysian College (Athlone), Claughaun.
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