Sheehan: Gooch exit could be blessing in disguise
The Gooch leaves for the United States today where he plans to stay for a number of months. First up on his itinerary is Sunday’s Superbowl in Arizona where the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants.
A three-time All-Ireland winner and four-time All Star, it is harder to imagine a greater hole being blown in any team’s arsenal but Sheehan believes Cooper’s absence could work in the side’s favour.
“Colm would be a loss to any team. He is the driving force behind us and the main target man and scorer. It’s an opportunity for other players to come to the fore and stand up and be counted.
“I think it’s an opportunity to see where we stand without him. The same thing could happen in the championship. He could be injured and we could be without him. What’s going to happen then?
“I think it’s a great opportunity to see how we cope without him. We might find someone to step into the fray and do a job for us.”
Fortunately, the template for coping without key men is already there in Kerry after Paul Galvin and Declan O’Sullivan’s decisions last year to spend a substantial portion of the spring in Australia.
As the whole country saw, the breaks didn’t hurt either player’s performances later on in the summer when they went on to play key roles in the back-to-back All-Ireland success in September.
Indeed, 10 months on from their return to Ireland, O’Sullivan is approaching the new season as a 2007 All Star and Galvin as the county captain after Feale Rangers’ surprise county final defeat of South Kerry.
Sheehan might have been awarded the armband himself had that decider gone the way most expected, but the Cork IT student is confident Galvin has what it takes to lead a side seeking a historic three-in-a-row.
“Paul is a big player and he loves the responsibility. He is a driving force behind us, you see him there out in the games — he is the workhorse behind the team. When you have a captain he is going to drive. I think he is looking forward to it.
“You can see it in him. He is the kind of player who will respond to the responsibility. Even in training he had that buzz. He is more vocal, talking to players a bit more.”
Mention of that elusive hat-trick is brushed swiftly away by Sheehan who did reveal that he expects Darragh Ó Sé to return to the squad for another season. For now, his focus is squared on Saturday’s league opener in Ballybofey.
Kerry face a trio of Ulster opponents first up with Tyrone and Derry visiting Killarney after the tie against Donegal. Though the home team have their personnel problems, the Kingdom have issues of their own.
“It is going to be difficult. We are back (from holidays) a few weeks now and we have a couple of good sessions under our belts. Maybe match practice (will be a problem). We haven’t played in the McGrath Cup and Donegal have had a few games.
“It’s an excuse. We will see where we stand up there and we will know if we have to pick it up for the next day. It’s a very competitive league and you can’t afford to sit back and take things as they come.”
Kerry’s league record of late makes for impressive reading with three successive titles claimed between 2004 and 2006 but they showed last season that failure to haunt the latter stages of the competition need not be a fatal blow to All-Ireland ambitions.
That said, Sheehan is adamant that they would dearly love to book a date in Croke Park on April 26, especially as it will be another six weeks beyond that before they are due to open their Munster Championship defence.
“We wanted to qualify for the semi-finals and finals the last couple of years because it was two extra games going into the championship.
“They were important for us. We want to progress into the final and possibly go on and win it. You don’t get the same value out of challenge games and training."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
