League is never the priority for Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice

If Eamonn Fitzmaurice is not careful, he’ll be credited with evoking the disdain Mick O’Dwyer and Páidí Ó Sé showed to the league.

No doubt, he would have preferred more than nine wins from the county’s 21 Division 1 outings (less than a 43% win rate) these last three seasons but there is little in the way to suggest the competition means that much to him. He’s certainly not his predecessor Jack O’Connor who in his six seasons as Kerry manager won three titles and recorded a 70% win rate. On paper, Ó Sé’s return was actually good, just over 64%, although several victories came against weaker opposition than what makes up Division 1 currently.

But was Fitzmaurice all that pushed for league honours? A semi-final and a final would have had to be worked around the upcoming training camp to Portugal, now a staple part of the county’s championship preparations under Fitzmaurice, rather than the opposite way.