Kerry Boss enjoying pre-final buzz despite rumours of unrest

Kerry manager Jack O’Connor said today that the mood during the build up to today's All-Ireland Football Final has been good.

This is despite rumours of unrest in the Kerry camp following Eoin Brosnan’s demotion to the bench in favour of the returning captain Declan O’Sullivan.

Reports indicated that Brosnan, along with a number of his team mates did not take the news well.

Kerry are aiming to for an unprecedented 34th title as they face Mayo in the decider.

“The build up to an All Ireland Final is a great buzz,” said O’Connor. “In a county like Kerry, it's huge. But you have to enjoy it.

“I'm learning to enjoy it more than I used to. There's always fierce pressure on you to win your first one. When you win the first one you try to enjoy them a bit better.

“So I'm certainly enjoying the build up to this one because there was a stage when we were written off, so anything after that is going to be a bonus.”

O’Connor admitted that the road to the final had been tough.

“It’s been a rollercoaster year in many ways,” he said. “We struggled in the Munster championship against Cork and eventually they got the better of us in the replay.

“After winning the league, we were a bit disappointed by our start to the championship. Obviously we had to regroup and restructure a few things since then.

“It’s taken off I suppose after the Longford game. We got a few goals that day and it seemed to ignite the team again. Thankfully we’ve been playing reasonably well since.”

Kerry Team: D Murphy, M O Se, M McCarthy, T O’Sullivan, T, O Se, S Moynihan, A O’Mahony, D O Se, T Griffin, S O’Sullivan, D O’Sullivan, P Galivin, C Cooper, K Donaghy, M Frank Russell.