Canavan seeks swift return

PETER CANAVAN is confident of being able to lead his team into next month’s Bank of Ireland SFC final despite having a plaster cast on his left ankle, which he injured in the semi-final victory over Kerry.

A scan undertaken in Dublin yesterday confirmed ligament damage, but the Tyrone skipper is hopeful of a return to training within a fortnight.

"It's a bit too early to make a prognosis on it, but that's what I would be hoping for,'' he admitted.

"They'll know better when the cast comes off. I would be more hopeful that once that happens they can do a bit of work on it and that it should be okay,'' he added.

Canavan had an active participation in Sunday's game for no more than eight minutes. The injury occurred in the 11th minute, and prior to that he had spent over three minutes off the field due to a blood injury.

"I knew my ankle was gone when it happened. The last time I hurt it was in the '96 semi-final against Meath and I had no bother with it until Sunday. And I would have played a right few matches in the interim!

"I had been really looking forward to playing against Seamus Moynihan. For starters, he's one of the best footballers to come out of Kerry, and he's 'a footballer' he plays the ball. It would have been an interesting battle and I was disappointed not to have made that.

"The other aspect was that it was great for Tyrone to win the game without me, because on many occasions they have been castigated for not winning matches when I have been playing badly or when I have not been playing. At least they have proved that much wrong.''

More immediately, Canavan returns to his teaching job next Thursday. However, reigning county and provincial club champions Errigal Ciaran will have to plan for their Tyrone quarter-final at the weekend without him.

Meanwhile, Kerry County Board chairman Sean Walsh predicted that team managements may have to change their traditional style of play to counteract the type of game favoured by Tyrone and other northern counties.

This would be a retrograde step, he said, with gaelic football the big loser, "along with the people who pay to see the games".

However, he didn't begrudge Tyrone their weekend victory.

"Basically, they won by playing very good football for the first 20 minutes," he said.

"There was no difference from the way Tyrone played on Sunday to the way they play every other day. They came at us in droves and we did not have the team play to deal with their pace and their power early on.

"We just did not come to terms in time. We did come to terms with it later, and we had a couple of good opportunities. I feel that if Declan O'Sullivan had been lucky enough to goal from the opportunity he got in the 50th minute, then we would have been right back in the game. Equally, they also had the opportunity of getting at least three goals.

"We could have gone in much closer at half-time and if we had, they might have adopted different tactics in the second half as well. But having a seven points lead dictated the way the game was played.''

He said that his first thoughts after the game were for the feelings of the players, knowing that the defeat had "really hurt them".

"You could see the disappointment in their faces. You really felt for this lot, because it's the third time they have come to Croke Park in the last three years and lost. That in itself is very difficult to take."

However, he still has great confidence in the talents of the squad, pointing out it includes five under-21 players who all gained championship experience this year.

"The oldest players the likes of Seamus Moynihan, Declan O'Keeffe, Darragh Ó Sé and John Crowley are definitely young enough to be involved with Kerry for the next couple of years.

"It's not all doom and gloom. That is the message we've got to get across. We have a good panel, it's just a question of getting down to work, getting it right on the day.

"The one thing I would have to say is that management teams and I don't mean just Kerry are going to have to adapt to teams they play. You can't go with the same tactics and hope to win.

"I feel there will be a lot more emphasis on playing different teams different ways. In relation to 'going forward' and taking account of the way other teams are adapting and winning with these tactics, teams that are used to playing in 15-man positions will have to change.

"The reaction to Sunday's game from Kerry people who were at the game has been very negative. They felt it was a dull, dour encounter. It was a big cost and they feel they did not get value for money.''

The current two-year term for Páidí Ó Sé and his co-selectors has expired and without speculating on any possible change Mr Walsh expressed the hope that the next management would be in place by the end of October.