Players want to do their talking at Croker

OUT on the parched-looking Fitzgerald Stadium pitch, Luke Dempsey was eloquently lauding Kerry’s work ethic and ability to deal with one of the most dangerous young attacks in the country.

In the winning dressing room, there was a whiff of tension in the air — and it had nothing to do with Longford.

“I’ve two words to say to ye,” half-smiled Kerry coach, Jack O’Connor. And he was one of the few accommodating interviewees.

“Well done?” suggested one journalist, helpfully.

Clearly the Kerry footballers, wound into the realms of paranoia by the previous management, are back in the marketplace for scapegoats outside the dressing room after a string of poor Championship performances. Reports of tetchiness at training, anxiety over tactics, and disputes between players have clearly elevated their indignation to the point where they have forgotten that most, if not all, of the aggravation is of their own making.

And what if there was a few sore heads? If there weren’t ructions in the dressing room after a truly depressing Munster Championship campaign, there’s something amiss in terms of ambition and personal pride. Defeats like the Munster final replay should fester and agitate the players — and the management.

Neither are blind to the impact two weeks of soul-searching — in private, in print and among the citizens — had on Kerry’s zip on Saturday. Not to mention the din created by the animated home fans.

“Come to Croke Park next Saturday, and hopefully we’ll give them the same result,” pleaded man of the match Kieran Donaghy, happily floating above the churlish behaviour of some of his colleagues.

“I thought we were a bit unlucky in Cork; we didn’t take the chances we created that day, so the important thing was making that early dominance pay (against Longford). Next Saturday is a big test against Armagh, but that’s what the Championship is about, and hopefully we can get the Kerry fans to travel, and we’ll try to give them a show.”

His coach pulled off one of the great tactical master strokes of recent times by recognising Mayo’s weakness under the high ball before the 2004 All-Ireland final — deploying Donaghy on the edge of the square was well advertised in advance, but no less effective for that.

“Criticism goes with the territory down here and the only thing I was worried about was that it would affect the players. I didn’t mind myself getting a bit of flak because I am getting it all my life.

“The way we were going, we would have taken any kind of a win, but it’s a bit special to finally open and get a few goals and it has to be good for the confidence. It’s just good to be back and playing with a bit of structure again.”

Armagh now? “I have not even thought about Armagh yet. We were not looking beyond this because Longford are a very serious team.”

It’s unlikely the selectors will tinker to any degree with the starting 15 for the quarter-final, though there were eyebrows raised at the substitution of Darren O’Sullivan just before half-time, being replaced by Declan O’Sullivan.

Luke Demspey believes Kerry have done enough to be considered realistic Championship winners.

“I said Armagh and Kerry from the start of the season, so it’s ironic that this defeat for us sets that pairing up. Their worth ethic was fantastic, because we know we have very good forwards — that was no mediocre opposition their backs faced, but they stuck to the task all day.

“Perhaps I was too slow in making the change at full back, but even when we got Donaghy under a bit of control, Brosnan stepped up. And Gooch was outstanding. He’s been playing well all along, just not getting the scores.”