Aaron Kernan out to impress at Sunderland

Aaron Kernan admits he feels a responsibility to Gaelic players to perform well when he joins up with Sunderland FC tomorrow. 

The former Armagh defender will spend a few days being filmed with the Premier League club as part of AIB’s Toughest Trade documentary, which will be screened on TV3 next month.

As part of the ‘swap’, ex-Tottenham Hotspur player David Bentley has already arrived in Kernan’s Crossmaglen where he trained on Monday night. This evening he lines out in the club’s challenge game against Silverbridge. Bentley has also taken up Kernan’s job as a property manager.

Also featuring in the programme is Kilkenny’s Jackie Tyrrell who will later this month head to Florida for pre-season training with a Major League Baseball team.

All Star baseball player Brian Schneider will move the other way, joining Tyrrell’s James Stephens club as well as filling his full-time position as an account manager with Glanbia.

Kernan, who once was part of Dundalk FC’s academy, has described the initiative as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity and wants to make a good impression on behalf of GAA players.

“To be honest with you I do, yeah. I don’t feel the pressure of it, I’m excited by it because I know the condition that everyone else is in and I know what I’ve put in this last 10 years to GAA. I hope that I go over and give a good reflection of ourselves. We have our working life and our sporting life.”

He added: “For me it’s exciting because from a GAA point of view, it’s well documented how much we train and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, I’d always have liked to have seen how I’d test up against a professional player.

“I feel we’re an extremely high standard of fitness and conditioning so this will tell. I could get my comeuppance this weekend!”