The Alan key to Kerry

THERE’S an effervescence about Alan O’Sullivan that provides a ready context for his role in preparing Kerry for a sixth All-Ireland final in-a-row.

“Sometimes you are more entertainment officer than physical trainer,” he explains. “You need the guys thinking well, feeling well. How do they reconcile getting out of bed one Sunday and being man of the match and doing the same thing the following Saturday and being taken off? It’s a state of mind, and we help.”

And on your own bad days? “I got one piece of advice when I came in here, from Kieran Donaghy: ‘Alan, you’re training Kerry’. When you drive into training, that’s singing in your head: ‘I’m training Kerry’.