Micko on familiar ground as he enters the lion's den

MICK O'DWYER has been down this road before. In his second stint as Kildare manager he masterminded the defeat of his native Kerry in the 1998 All-Ireland semi-final.

His final game in charge was the fourth-round qualifier in 2002, when Páidí Ó Sé (and his own son John, a selector) came out on top.

Tomorrow, Laois line up against the Kingdom in the Allianz NFL semi-final in Fitzgerald Stadium (3.45pm) - the same ground where he achieved his first significant victory as Kerry manager in the Munster final all of 31 years ago.

It was also where he played his last league game for Kerry, in November 1973 (against Cork), and the occasion could have an added significant tomorrow.

O'Dwyer is on record as stating that this will be his last year with Laois, so this could conceivably mark their last league outing under his direction.

Everybody knows that the Waterville maestro doesn't attach huge significance to the National League. Eight times a winner as a player (and twice a winning manager with Kerry), he remembers finals in Croke Park which were very poorly attended.

"There was one particular day when Donie O'Sullivan went up to receive the Cup and there wasn't a sinner left in the stadium. That turned me off the league," he said.

However, he readily acknowledges its value in modern-times.

"It's a good place to get a team ready for the championship, but all that matters are provincial titles and All-Ireland titles."

A surprise holiday in Spain planned by his family didn't take account of a possible Laois involvement in the knock-out stages. He had no option but to travel out for four days, returning yesterday to supervise the last training session. Meanwhile, the rest of the family enjoy a few more days in the sun.

"We were going great up to last Sunday when we picked up a few injuries, which means that we will be without Aidan Fennelly, who is one of our best backs, and Chris Conway, who has been our leading scorer. And Barry Brennan has opted out because of an ankle injury. Kerry rarely lose in the Fitzgerald Stadium, so we are going into the lion's den. It's just a pity that we won't have our full team out, but it will be still an interesting game from our point of view."

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor is 'delighted' to have his team involved.

"We set out our stall from the beginning, we took the league seriously," he explains.

"At times we struggled, but it was a tough schedule with seven games in an eight or nine-week period. In many ways, we played better football last year but lost out at the finish by a point on scoring difference."

Along the way they introduced some new players and did a bit of experimentation.

Eamonn Fitzmaurice is being tried out at centre-forward, Kieran Donaghy at midfield, Ronan O'Connor at full-forward and the promising Darren O'Sullivan has gained a bit of experience.

Last weekend, in Killarney, Kerry drew with Dublin in their concluding game.

O'Connor felt the forwards did well 'overall' in the prevailing circumstances, especially since they 'did not gain parity' in the middle of the field.

"Our backs did well and we got 13 points from limited possession. We came up trumps in different areas," he added.

With Colm Cooper's value to the team inestimable, the manager says the statistics spoke for themselves.

"When he came on we were two points behind, but in another 10 minutes we were two in front. It really got the crowd behind us and they can also play a huge part in this game. We will want to use every advantage we have," he said.

"We are delighted to get the extra game, especially the fact that we are at home and that the lads don't have to travel over the Easter weekend.

"There was a great buzz in training during the week. Our fellows are really looking forward to this game."