Rebels ready to make a statement, says Shields

Michael Shields has been facing Kerry sides in Munster finals for 11 years now.

Ever since he was a fresh-faced minor, they’ve stood in the way. The lesson he has learned in that time?

“The biggest thing is preparation,” he said.

“You’ve got to be prepared. Kerry never leave a stone unturned whether they’ve a good team or weak team, they get the best out of themselves. You have to be ready for that.”

And you have to be ready for harsh lessons if you’re not. In the seven Munster finals he’s played on Cork sides against Kerry in his minor and senior career, the record stands at one victory in 2006 and five losses 2003, ’04 (both minor), ’07, ’11 and ’13. He was with AFL side Carlton in 2008.

But he still acknowledged that when his career is over, Cork versus Kerry clashes will help define it.

“To a certain extent. It definitely sets you up as to how you are judged. If you play a good game against Kerry it stands to you. Winning a Munster final probably sends out a signal of intent to the rest of the country. It’s important.”

This final will be different from past ones though. Despite both counties occupying third and fourth on the bookies’ outright betting for Sam Maguire, internally they are judged to be in transition. Retirements of Graham Canty and Paul Gavlin have shorn both sides of the characters who have defined this clash for the past 10 years.

That’s why there’s an element of the unknown surrounding each team. Shields though, knows what to expect, based on his previous experiences.

“Kerry are Kerry. They’ve a great manager with Eamonn Fitzmaurice. He’ll have his lads well drilled. It’s a Munster final, one of the last in Páirc Uí Chaoimh before it redevelops so we’re going into it confident enough and will give it a right rattle. From our point of view we’ve new management but we’ve probably put that to bed and set ourselves up in a nice position.”

That management team, led by season debutant Brian Cuthbert, will undergo its biggest test following an impressive league campaign which saw them lose to Dublin in the semi-final. His captain believes the enthusiasm he brings to the job will ensure Cork football remains in good shape.

“He’s fanatical about football. He’s done courses in it. He’s been involved with youth systems all the way up, club teams and the county minors. He’s a fanatical football man who likes to listen to players and what they have to say. He likes to hear the ideas and that’s probably the best thing of all. It’s giving lads a sense of freedom.

“Conor Counihan was the same. The door was always open.

“[For us] we’ve got a good manager in place who’s brought in his own selectors who we’ve a lot of respect for. We’ve a lot of young players in at the moment who’ve tasted success at minor and U21.

“We got lucky in that we won the McGrath Cup, had a good league campaign considering a good manager left us and we had a lot of retirements. We’ve laid good foundations and are looking forward to the year now.”