Donncha Walsh: ‘I’m used to competition for places.’
Of Kerry’s seven championship games this summer, he’s started four, been spring from the bench in two, with the encounter against Longford in Pearse Park his only full 70 minutes. Hardly calculated to breed confidence?
“There’s serious competition for places alright,” he says, “but I’m used to that now, that’s been the story of my inter-county career.
“I’ve never managed to nail down a position. Every day at training I’m being asked questions of my ability and that’s nothing new to me. I’ve come to accept that. You can’t afford to have an off-day at training. Some of the more established players can probably have a quiet night at training, but when you’re struggling for places you have to be putting in performances every night and then hope that the management and selectors can notice that.”
By common consent, Walsh is fighting with Tommy Walsh and Darran O’Sullivan for two spots in the Kerry attack. His form in training since the Meath semi-final will make it hard for the selectors to leave him out. Despite a helpful knack of weighing in with important goals, he is unlikely to throw a wobbler if he’s left out. Tantrums aren’t his style.
Walsh has witnessed at first hand Tyrone’s capabilities in recent seasons and was left awestruck at a Munster team finally getting the hang of tackling the Red Hands.
“Cork absolutely blew them away. We’ve been trying to crack Tyrone for a number of years and Cork did it. I suppose we were hoping to be the team to do it but Cork were the ones to do it and they did it in style. They were awesome really.
“I would have played a lot of Sigerson football there with guys on the Cork panel. I got to know Paddy Kelly at UCC, I’ve massive respect for him and knew he always had the potential to make it. He reads the game very well.”
Ditto Walsh. Though Paul Galvin’s work ethic is indisputable, clearly Jack O’Connor and co take comfort from having Walsh tracking up and down the opposite channel. Though Donncha was withdrawn early in a tactical shift in the semi-final – Kerry badly needed a target man – he is nonetheless is that rare offering: an intelligent grafter.
Remarks Walsh: “After the Cork defeat (in Munster), we had to take a look at ourselves. In the qualifiers, the games were coming thick and fast for us. We didn’t really have time to assess it too much and were only scraping through.
“It was a difficult time. Some people say the small pitches didn’t suit us. But we’ve all played in small pitches before. I kind of like going up to those small venues to challenge yourself. It was more we didn’t get our heads right for those games.
“But then when we’d some time before the Dublin game, we got things right for that. There’s big excitement now and we’re just looking forward to it.”
* Man of the match betting: 20/1
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