Moynihan hails McCarthy’s return

SEAMUS MOYNIHAN agrees that the return of Mike McCarthy to the Kerry squad is the perfect boost for Jack O’Connor ahead of preparations for the championship in five weeks’ time.

While expecting that he would come back, at the same time, Moynihan said he wouldn’t have been surprised if the Kilcummin man had decided to “throw in the towel”.

“He hadn’t ruled himself in or out, he did the right thing. He gave himself a bit of space after the All-Ireland. It’s great to see him come back,’’ he said.

Acknowledging that as the father of a young child, McCarthy had responsibilities outside of football, he added: “It’s hard to give that commitment to the county. But, from a Kerry point of view it’s absolutely fantastic he’s throwing his lot in for one more year. It’s a great boost for the Kerry panel and management.

“His impact last year was phenomenal. He came back for the Sligo game and he probably was a bit ring-rusty, but from the Antrim game on he was absolutely fantastic. In that game they switched himself and Marc O Sé and that allowed Mike to come out wing-back and take the ball. From there on he was really the link from defence to the forwards and he had a massive role in winning the All-Ireland back.”

As a player who was himself forced to sacrifice his natural instincts when switched to the full-back line near the end of his career, Moynihan said that McCarthy’s new role in the half-back line had finally enabled him to showcase his skills. “Mike is a very good footballer – he’s very natural – and people wouldn’t have seen that before when he was playing full-back or corner-back.

“Thankfully he brought the football he normally plays with his club into the county level and he really expressed himself. While Mike was (previously) doing a job for Kerry, he would obviously have preferred to play out the field. But, like most players at the end of the day you take positions you can get. Mike would have been known as a corner-back or a full-back, but people at club level in Kerry would have known he played wing-forward or centre-forward with the club at times and obviously midfield and centre-back.

“Anyone who would have marked him over the years in any one of these positions would have known he was a very gifted footballer. He wasn’t your bog-standard corner-back by any means.’’

Moynihan is also happy to think that Paul Galvin will continue his role as a “fantastic working half-forward” – not that he ever envisaged him taking over the number six jersey. “At the end of the day, that would be a crazy call. You would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. There’s no doubt that he would add to the half-back line, but his most favourite position – and his best – is wing-forward.

“You certainly are not going to be messing around with Paul in that position or that line. You want to keep the line strong and you need Paul Galvin there.”

Additionally, while Tomas O Sé can play anywhere in defence, Moynihan feels that the Gaeltacht man has proved over the years ‘that number five is by far his best jersey. “It is where he really expresses himself,’’ he added.