Fitzmaurice calm before the summer storm

MUNSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL:

Eamonn Fitzmaurice has probably had better springtimes. He’s certainly had calmer ones.

His first four league games as Kerry manager were lost. That didn’t sit well with him or anyone else of a green and gold disposition.

“During the course of those games, there were nights I wasn’t too happy. I’m usually philosophical enough,” he said. “I’ve played a lot of big games with Kerry and with my club. We won a lot of those games but we lost a lot of big games too, so I think after a while you get philosophical.

“At the same time I don’t think it matters whether you are playing a game of golf or five-a-side, the competitive instincts are there and you are disappointed, definitely, when you don’t win.

“The games were coming so thick and fast that you could not dwell on it, really. You just had to analyse it as scientifically as you could to see where you could improve things for the next weekend.

“You then try and transmit that to the players and see could it make any difference for your next game.”

He found the natives far from restless, however. A bonus. “People were very positive. You really didn’t have time to dwell on the poor results. The only place there seemed to be any reaction was in the national media.

“Locally, the media were positive. People you met on the street were very positive. They understood what we were trying to do and they were very supportive. I must say that there was very little negativity around and after losing four games in a row and particularly after the performance against Donegal, you would not blame people, if they were having a pop at that stage.”

They turned it round. Scrambling a win over Down was the turning point, he says, pointing to trace elements of the earlier defeats even in that victory.

“We were disappointed how the league was going early on. We were all working hard, management and players, but it just wasn’t happening.

“We weren’t happy with the performances or with the results, obviously, and the longer it went on, the more questions were being asked.

“We knew if we stuck at it, it’d turn at some stage. We got a tentative win against Down in Tralee. We played well in the first half but were nervy in the second half; you’d know we’d lost four games in a row. The momentum built from there and we won the other two games.

“We learned a lot from it. We played a lot of players and survived in Division 1, which was the priority. It was a decent league looking back, but there were aspects of it we wouldn’t be happy with.”

Having been involved up to last year as a selector, Fitzmaurice stresses the importance of the collective nature of management: “Jack’s [O’Connor] style was it was very much a management team, and that’s something I’d bring forward with me.

“We work together and we work hard. The difference as a selector or a coach you give your opinions but at the end of the day the boss makes the decision. I’m sure there are plenty of things Jack and I disagree about, but he’d make the decision and I’d row in behind it. This year I have the ultimate call but it’s very much a team effort. I have a fantastic management team around me.”

Perhaps as a result of the stuttering in springtime, Kerry haven’t figured as prominently in pundits’ picks for All-Ireland champions.

“I don’t think that’s something we think about one way or the other,” he says. “Within the group or the team you’re only focused on the next team, talk about who’s favourites or not doesn’t influence what’s going on in the camp. It won’t determine who wins or loses.”

At least the workload has eased for him. Earlier in the year, Fitzmaurice was managing his school team, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, as they soldiered to the All-Ireland semi-final, as well as playing for his club, Finuge, as they made it to the final of the All-Ireland intermediate club championship.

“When I took this job, I always meant to keep the school job on because I’d made the commitment to those lads. I wasn’t going to renege on that.

“I’ve had good support in everything but it was hectic. I was out every night of the week, simple as that, but it’s been a bit more normal since the school team finished up.”

He points to a lengthy injury list (“Eoin Brosnan, Jonathon Lyne, Shane Enright, Jack Sherwood are all out at the moment, Michael O’Donoghue has a long-term injury, and David Moran picked up an eye injury so we have had a bad run in terms of injuries. Paul Geaney is another player who is out long term”) and he pays due deference to Tipperary.

“They’re a coming team. they beat Wexford, Offaly and Antrim last year in the qualifiers and only exited the championship a round before Kerry, losing out to Down, in round four and they only lost to Kerry by six points last year and for long periods they had Kerry worried.

“That game against Wexford in Semple Stadium in particular, they had a great win. I remember thinking at the time, that this was a win that would stand to those in terms of development further down the line for players who would gain experience in those kind of games.

“Tipperary are going to be coming down to Killarney, complete underdogs, they are going to be written off by everyone, they have a lot of very good footballers, a good manager, so we are not looking beyond Sunday, what happens six days after might never happen, if we don’t deal with Sunday first.”

Given the way the league went for him you’d expect a rookie manager to play down its significance in that context, but not Fitzmaurice. He regards it as a valid guideline for the championship.

“I think it is because it’s so competitive and serious from the off. There was a time the league started to gather momentum towards the end of the series of games but now, with the profile of the games being on TV thanks to TG4 and Setanta, more people see them and the media coverage is bigger.

“Teams take it more seriously and the correlation between teams doing well in league and championship is well established from 2003, when Tyrone won the league and went on to win the championship later that year.

“Dublin were the form team in the league and looked very good, serious contenders — basically a shoo-in for the All-Ireland, but there’s a long way to September.”

Spoken like a man who knows the route.