Jack plots new course

JACK O’CONNOR has been down this road before. He stood facing a media inquisition in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 2006 and 2009 in the wake of similar defeats to Cork. Both years O’Connor managed to revive the Kerry challenge and steer them in the direction of an All-Ireland title.

Yesterday he trooped into the boardroom at Páirc Ui Chaoimh already plotting the circuitous championship route his team must travel now.

A below-par display resulted in a five-point loss for Kerry in this semi-final clash and the knives were soon being sharpened. RTE analyst Martin Carney pronounced “it was the day the music died for some Kerry players”, an evocative line that did not find favour with O’Connor.