O’Shea: the onus is on us to perform
He knows exactly what to expect from the Ulster men, but he can’t be sure about how his own team is going to perform after a six week lay-off.
While this made the management’s job ‘all the harder’, the players did benefit from their involvement in a few rounds of the county championship. With a number of them pushing hard for places, training was especially intense and this level of competitiveness undoubtedly helped.
“You are trying your best to replicate as close to championship games as possible, which is never an easy task,’’ he explained. Apart from the obvious things of keeping players motivated and improving their physical condition, there were plenty of opportunities to look at areas of their game which they felt ‘needed to be worked on’.
“From that point of view we were happy that we had a little bit of time. Obviously the main problem is that we are lacking in championship match practice and that is the key area that will worry.’’
O’Shea admitted that there were aspects of their game against Cork that had to be worked on.
“You are always looking at trying to improve your game. From our point of view the Munster final was a kind of a roller-coaster game insofar that we looked in control for a period in the second half and then obviously when Cork came back into it, we looked vulnerable.
“The six weeks would have given us the opportunity to work on those areas and hopefully we will have ironed out some of our problems.’’
Astute Kerry followers would still have concerns about the stability of the defence, feeling that the true effect of losing Mike McCarthy and Seamus Moynihan has yet to be felt.
O’Shea, who admits that both are ‘irreplaceable’ and that Eamonn Fitzmaurice is a big loss, is pleased with the progress of the newcomers.
“They have done quite well and we are very happy with the performance of a lot of the players, particularly the younger lads who have come in.”
O’Shea also admits to being very impressed by what he has seen of Monaghan on television — giving them a lot of credit for putting out Derry and for the way they successfully regrouped after going under to Tyrone in the provincial decider.
“I thought they dismantled Donegal very professionally. It showed how much they have improved this year. They are well organised, they have a very simple but effective game-plan and they are difficult to break down.’’
While Tommy Freeman is the name on most people’s lips because of his scoring exploits, O’Shea doesn’t see this as a one-man attack. He points to the ball-winning ability of (former full-back) Vincent Corey and the potential of players like Rory Woods and Paul Finlay.
“They have a nice balance and Seamus McEnaney obviously has done a lot of good work with them. “We are under no illusion how big a challenge this is,’’ he added.
Nevertheless, O’Shea readily concedes that this Kerry team has a lot going for them, in terms of the talent in the side and the experience that key players have gained over a long period of time.
“To be fair, Kerry like Croke Park, they do seem to enjoy going there and they like performing there. It’s a venue where there is really no excuse for a poor performance. It’s a big open pitch and normally, nine times out of ten, the best team wins. Kerry lads have performed there and been successful there in the last number of years. Of course it will be a help.
“But, as I have said many times, the great thing about Gaelic football is that on any given Sunday if you don’t come with the right attitude and you don’t come ready to play, you can get beaten. The onus is on us to perform very well, to the highest of our ability. Otherwise it’s not going to be good enough.’’
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