Gap between games concerns O'Connor

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor has again expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the GAA Senior Football Championships are structured.

O'Connor said his charges looked "a bit rusty" during their All-Ireland quarter-final win over Limerick at Croke Park yesterday, given that they had gone four weeks without a competitive game.

The inactivity is something which a successful side like Kerry have gotten used to over the years, but it did not stop O'Connor arguing a point that many county bosses have laboured over.

"We were worried that not having played a game in a month, we would be a bit off it," he explained.

"It is just the scheduling and structure that drives managers mad. You know, you want to be playing games every two weeks. It is very hard for the lads mentally to be watching other teams playing games.

"Training sessions per match must be through the roof. I don't know, I haven't figured it out but it must be crazy stuff.

"I haven't got the solution, but certainly four or five-week gaps are not good at all.

"In 2009, our best performance came after we played five weekends in-a-row, up here in the quarter-final against Dublin, so there is no such thing as burnout. Training burns you out, not matches. That's my rant for the day."

The Kingdom will be back in action on Sunday, August 21 when they battle it out with Connacht champions Mayo for a place in the All-Ireland final.

Four years ago when Kerry last won the All-Ireland title as Munster champions, they faced an all too familiar wait for matches.

In 2007 they beat Waterford (June 3) and Cork (July 1) in the Munster Championship, edged out Monaghan in their All-Ireland quarter-final on August 12, accounted for Dublin in their semi-final clash on August 26 and lifted the Sam Maguire Cup on September 16, having defeated Cork again.

That Championship-winning run equates to five matches spread across 15 weeks, with an average gap between games of three weeks.

This season, if they are to reach the top of the pile again, O'Connor's men will have to put together six wins in a 17-week period, running from their provincial opener against Tipperary on May 22 through to the All-Ireland decider on September 18.

Kerry did not have to fire on all cylinders to beat Limerick. A moment of magic from Darran O'Sullivan, whose audacious flick found the net in the 25th minute, was the highlight of a solid but underwhelming display.

Paul Galvin and Tomás Ó Sé were both back from injury and suspension respectively, while the withdrawal of goal scorer O'Sullivan, late in the first half, was the only real concern.

"Unfortunately Darran tweaked a hamstring which means he faces a race against time to be ready for the All-Ireland semi-final," added O'Connor.

"We'll have a look at the video. Hopefully there'll be room for improvement there. There will need to be (for the next day)."