Rebel veteran Kissane still up for a challenge
While the Clyda Rovers man started in the previous round’s win over Limerick, the return of Eoin Cadogan from injury has seen him squeezed out, but he knows that it is the nature of the beast.
“Overall, for the competitiveness of the squad, it is good,” he said.
“You see it the last day against Limerick with the fellas coming on, Fintan, Donncha and Noelie, it’s great and that’s what drives it. When we won the All-Ireland in 2010, it was like that too but at the end of the day we’re all selfish too, as much as you want competition for places, you want the jersey.”
Kissane can count himself unfortunate not to start, however, especially as he put in such a good performance in the unfamiliar surrounds of the full-back line against the Shannonsiders.
“I suppose it’s a new one for me,” he said.
“I was thrown in there a few weeks before the Limerick game, obviously we had a few injuries with Eoin Cadogan and Jamie O’Sullivan, and the management felt it went okay.
“There was a small bit of a temptation to go forward, but the key thing is that your defensive job is number one, you have to be a bit tighter because if your man gets the ball and you’re a few yards away, he’ll just put it over the bar. There’s more at stake with your marking, whereas at wing-back your man might drift out the field and you’d have more space then when you do get the ball.”
Tomorrow’s game is the first time since 1989 that Mick O’Dwyer will lead a team into championship action against Cork. Kissane expects a bit of the Waterville man’s magic to have rubbed off on his new charges, even if only because of the aura he brings.
“You look at the success that he has had with other counties,” he said.
“He mightn’t do anything radical with training, but even just by speaking alone he’ll give them a bit of confidence and belief that they can achieve something with him.
“Micko’s shrewd too, we’re hearing nothing about Clare, and it’s up in Ennis, a tight pitch, they’re going to rattle this game so much and they have nothing to lose, so it’s going to be tricky.”
Having been a panellist under Larry Tompkins a decade ago, the pursuance of a sports science degree in Brunel University in London meant it was not until 2008 that Kissane returned to the squad.
The academic background is a help in terms of game preparation, but being recalled was a chance which he ensured he would take.
“When I was first involved it was all new and maybe I didn’t have enough confidence, you have to back yourself here, nobody is going to hold your hand. When I got back in, one I was delighted because I had been thinking it mightn’t happen again, and I was determined to make the most of it.”
At 33 now, however, he acknowledges that each passing year means one less opportunity for silverware.
“You’d be a small bit that way, you know that there’s not a huge amount of time left, so there’s a bit more hunger. That’s what drives it, and you try to get across to young fellas too, time will fly so focus on the next time and don’t mind thinking, ‘I’m here for the next 10 years’.
“Make the most of now and see where you are at the end of the year.”
A day-job as a full-time coach, however, combined with the commitments of an inter-county player, means he knows downtime is just as important.
“Even simple things, like ! spending time with the girlfriend and switching off, going to the cinema, going for a walk, non-football things and non-work things.
“You just have to learn to switch off, you can’t be thinking about it round the clock, you’d be flat. I’d had to learn, there would be times when you’d be doing everything and you’d get away with it for a day or two but then you’d be wrecked and that’s no good to anyone.
“Your mind controls the body, so if you’re drained then that’s going to affect the physical performance.”
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