Kerry keep faith in smooth operator Éamonn Fitzmaurice

Because it makes sense. That was the motivation behind the Kerry executive’s snappy decision to offer Éamonn Fitzmaurice a two-year extension ahead of last evening’s ratification.

The logic is difficult to contest. Under the Finuge man, Kerry’s winning percentage in championship football is over 76%. Dublin, albeit thrice, are the only team that have managed to get the better of his teams. He’s claimed four consecutive Munster titles, a feat not achieved by a Kerry manager since Mick O’Dwyer in 1979. The achievement has coincided with a period where Cork have been out of sorts but it’s the sort of local supremacy Kerry like.

As the county braces itself for a handful of retirements in the coming weeks and months, Fitzmaurice offers not just continuity but consistency too and the most diligent of football minds. Respected and revered by players, his attention to detail is legendary. Would any other manager in the county have done such a detail on Donegal as he did in the 2014 final?