Working on that dream

Tomás Ó Sé is a Bruce Springsteen fan. A massive one. From tape to CD to MP3, The Boss has featured prominently in his playlists throughout his 15-year senior career.

Today, as he supersedes older brother Darragh’s all-time SFC appearances record with 82 ‘caps’ for Kerry, he greets the occasion with a working man’s modesty championed by the New Jersey native and says it will be quickly broken.

He mightn’t have noticed he was closing in on the feat had it not been mentioned to him back in Ventry where he’s been helping out in Páidí’s pub during the summer months.

“There were a couple of lads at home who said it to me. The way the back door is going, I don’t know how long that will last with Gooch and Marc [Ó Sé] around the place. Those things won’t be sitting too long.

“I wouldn’t be expecting any plaudits for that but it’s nice in a way. I won’t be thinking about it on Saturday — it’s something you’ll look back on afterwards.”

It helps that Ó Sé will do it playing the type of composed football he has been renowned for.

The 34-year-old was one of the few absolved of responsibility for the defeat to Cork, while he has impressed against Westmeath and Tyrone.

Such performances couldn’t be more removed from earlier in the season when he picked up his second and third straight red cards in 10 months, handing him a two-match ban on each occasion.

Those dismissals against Armagh and Laois were low times for him but he took stock and moved on. While he suggests his reputation counted against him.

“I don’t think I’ve changed much down the years. Some things aren’t acceptable now like they were a few years ago.

“Grand, what I did in February and March some of it was stupid and I was just cranky. That’s the only reason I can give.

“But there were other incidents where I think there wasn’t much in it, nothing malicious. I’ve seen plenty of things throughout the summer way worse and these fellas wouldn’t even be dealt with. But I atoned for it because of previous incidents, as the man said.

“I did need a bit of a coping on. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have you still need a buck-up and I knew myself what I had to do.

“I don’t really be worried about it now. As long as you’re enjoying your football and you’re focused — [Paul] Galvin would probably be the best example of that. He’s very focused and ignores the other shite that is going on around the place.”

He knows what’s being written and said about this Kerry team. That’s not to say he pays it much mind. In one ear, out the other.

As he says himself: “For somebody to say we’re finished... like, why would you take that seriously? When you know the calibre of player we have inside you know it’s foolish talk. I wouldn’t even mention names and justify what they’d be saying.”

The majority of the players have been through similar circumstances anyway. Ó Sé draws parallels with the criticism meted out to them two years ago and the brickbats now.

“The exact same talk was around in 2009. It was probably worse then because we nearly went out to Sligo. The team is used to that talk but I wouldn’t get too fussed up about it.

“A lot of the criticism, you’re getting it nationally in the big papers but you also get it from your own people.

“Mick O’Dwyer always said there were 31-and-a-half counties against you. I’d go along with that, I’d say there are. For all the great support we have, there are people who voice their opinions based on one or two results. The great thing is that it doesn’t bother the players.”

Ó Sé doesn’t entertain the idea that last Saturday’s win over Tyrone was an answer to the detractors and the naysayers.

“Everybody was saying it was great to beat Tyrone. I didn’t really have a chip on my shoulder about beating Tyrone. It was great to beat them and at least you can say at the end that they weren’t a team we didn’t beat.

“But it’s a third round of the qualifiers and you just want to get to the next round. Being knocked out of the championship in Killarney was what I didn’t want especially by Tyrone.

“That was a fierce drive for us and Kerry hadn’t been beaten in Killarney for a long, long time [1995]. It wasn’t revenge, we were focused, we knew what we were doing. We lifted ourselves for it and we were happy with the draw.”

Based on experiences earlier this year, he anticipates the short trip to the Gaelic Grounds to face Clare this evening will be “dicey”.

“I played with [Gary] Brennan and [David] Tubridy in the Railway Cup. Two fine footballers and Brennan is the best midfielder I’ve seen in the country the last two years.

“He cleaned out the Leinster and Ulster midfielders and I’d be very wary of that. Michéal Ó Sé kicked three points against Cork so he’ll need serious attention.

“Clare will have spirit in bucketloads so we will have to be focused and show them the respect they deserve as Munster finalists.”

Back door, qualifier, knock-out... as Springsteen sings, there are only winners and losers now. Ó Sé doesn’t want to get caught on the wrong side of that line.