Last Ó Sé standing itching to be unleashed for league action
Only twice previously since 2001 has the veteran Kerry defender missed a chunk of spring action. “In 2009, I hurt my knee and missed two or three games,” he outlined. “The time before that was when Gaaeltacht were in the All-Ireland club championships.”
So it certainly wasn’t his decision not to be present for the narrow defeat to Dublin at Croke Park and the home loss to Derry last weekend.
That call came from management with Eamonn Fitzmaurice believing that at 33 — Ó Sé turns 34 next month — discretion may prove to be the better part of valour where the entire season is concerned.
Older brother Tomás walked away after last year’s Championship and with Darragh hanging up his boots in early 2010, Marc remains the last Ó Sé standing in the Kerry dressing-room. Will that be a difficult adjustment? “Ah, I don’t think so,” he said. “One of the things about the two boys, when they were on the ball, they always showed leadership qualities, especially when Kerry were in trouble. They always demanded the ball. They never went to hide.
“I think that’s something a leader will always do when faced with adversity. From that point of view, it’s important that if you’re out the field ou’re ready to take up that challenge and face up to what’s in front of you. But, personally, it’s not something I feel is going to be an issue.”
Darragh and Tomás predated the black card’s introduction though Marc will play under the new sanction when Kerry travel to face Mayo in Round 3 of the league, a tie he hopes to be involved in. Asked about the new sanction, he outlined his fear that it may, ironically, be used to the advantage of cynical teams.
“I cast my mind back to 2001 in Thurles when Maurice Fitzgerald came on as a sub and there were five or six Dubs who gave him a bit of a rough time,” he said.
“All it would have taken was for Maurice to react to that situation and he’s sitting down again. All it takes is for one of the current fellas to react, be it Sean Cavanagh, be it Colm Cooper, be it Bernard Brogan.
“It just takes one fella or maybe three or four fellas to tear into these guys, they react and then your best player is sitting down on the bench and he’s no good to no-one.
Most concerning, of course, is how Kerry fare in the Championship.
Ó Sé is happy to state that while he would like a league semi-final or final outing, this spring is all about uncovering, and in other cases, refining, young talent for the summer.
“Okay, the results aren’t going our way but I remember this time last year there were people pressing panic buttons down in Kerry,” said the four-time All-Ireland medal winner. “We lost four league games yet we went to Dublin (in the All-Ireland semi-final) and we pushed the Dubs to the pin of their collars.
“If luck had gone our way that day, we possibly could have beaten the Dubs. So we’re not panicking. Obviously we’re missing serious leadership qualities in the likes of Declan (O’Sullivan) and the ‘Gooch’ and these fellas. When they come back in there’ll be good competition then.
“ Definitely when we get all our players back, we’ll be looking forward to the Championship.”
Like Tomás Ó Sé, Paul Galvin won’t be back for the Championship though. The loss of the pair to retirement robs Kerry of a wealth of vital combativeness around the middle third of the field.
“Definitely, yeah, there is a worry there about that,” nodded Marc. “That’s an area we have to work on. But that’s the beauty of playing football and I suppose we are lucky that Kerry have always produced good players down through the years and fellas who will fight for positions. The challenge in front of us now is to replace those fellas.”
* Ó Sé was speaking at the launch of the 25th PhoneWatch Comortas Paidi Ó Sé which takes place on the Dingle peninsula from February 21-23.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
