‘I don’t care how we play. What it is about is winning’, says St Finbarr’s boss Ray Keane

It is exactly one week since his brother was ratified as the new Kerry football manager when I sit down with Ray Keane in a quiet corner of the St Finbarr’s clubhouse.

The reason for our meeting is this Sunday’s Cork senior football decider and the Barrs’ quest, spearheaded by Keane, to avoid a ninth county final defeat since their last triumph in 1985.

Firstly, however, to matters across the border and his oldest brother Peter taking on the top job in the Kingdom.

“Very proud, of course,” Ray begins, “but anyone that knows anything about my family, we are just steeped in football. As I often say to people, it is our drug, our golf, our fishing, our drinking. If I am not involved with a team, I’ll be at a game, as would all my family, no matter what part of the world they are in.

“God rest my father, it was one thing we got off him, along with a lot of other items and characteristics. I couldn’t think of a better pastime, to be honest.”

No doubt, but the late Tom Keane was above bursting with pride when county board chairman Tim Murphy, in front of a packed room of delegates in the Pavilion at Austin Stack Park, proposed his oldest boy Peter for the position of Kerry senior manager.

“Caherciveen’s [main] street wouldn’t be big enough for him at the moment, because he’d be beaming,” says Ray.

“He’d be the first one to say to my brother: ‘Now, the work starts.’ At the end of the day, it is about making a difference in the job.

“I’ve no doubt, he will. I’ve worked for him, played under him. I can see what he has and what he’ll bring to the table. I couldn’t think of anyone better to get the job.”

“If you haven’t played for Kerry, the next best thing, as far as I’d be concerned, would be managing the team. It is an unbelievable honour. With that comes a lot of expectation. It is a case now of managing that and hopefully, all will go well for him.

“Many a day I spent as a young lad behind the goals in Con Keating Park [in Caherciveen], kicking the balls back out to Peter and Maurice Fitzgerald. Best friends all their lives. The two of them will work very well together.”

The new Kerry boss is the oldest of Tom Keane’s four boys. Thomas, the next eldest, is chairman of Coiste na nÓg in Kerry for the past five years, while Kevin would have been heavily involved with the John Mitchels set-up in Liverpool before relocating to Dublin. Of their five sisters, only two would have no real interest in the GAA.

“Two out of nine ain’t bad,” Ray says, grinning.

“If you were reared in my house, the first question is what is going on in the GAA world. It is not ‘how are things’ or anything like that. The GAA is the starting point of any conversation. Down in South Kerry, that’s the way it is. It is either that, the weather, or who’s dead.

“No matter where we go or what stage of our lives we are at, be it playing, managing or in an administrative capacity, it is never too far away from us.”

Ray was Peter’s eye in the sky during Kerry’s comfortable run to a fourth consecutive All-Ireland minor crown last year. It’s safe to assume the favour has already been returned, given Peter was present for the Barrs’ quarter- and semi-final wins over Douglas and Carbery Rangers. No doubt, a few observations were made, and passed on.

With the Kerry county decider also on tomorrow, though, it is unlikely you’ll find Peter in Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the fourth Cork final meeting of Duhallow and St Finbarr’s.

“We’d be good sounding boards for each other, knowing full well we would have each other’s best interests at heart.”

Beaten in last year’s decider by Nemo, after a replay, the Barrs are back where they want to be, even if they’re not playing as they’d like.

“Last year, we came into the final on form, momentum behind us. Every game was a step up. This year, it is very patchy.

“That said, we are winning. We have 30-odd players in our set-up. You ask any of them what do they want. They want to win. I don’t really care how we play and I know people might not like to hear that.

“Obviously, you have ambitions and desires as you go out on a pitch, but you can’t do anything or improve if you are not still alive in the competition. At the start of the year, we wanted to get back to where we are now. I won’t hide the fact that was our ambition. We’re here now. Peak to me is winning the county. I genuinely don’t care how we play in it. What it is about is winning.”

When the conversation does eventually meander to who’ll be sitting in the opposing corner, it is no surprise to hear Ray pronounce that advantage will lie with their opponents, despite the fact that Duhallow are facing into their fourth game in 21 days.

“They are playing every seven days. I personally think the championship should be run off like that, if at all possible.

“When you have momentum, it is very hard to stop, because you start doing things that become second nature. That’s the slight concern that I’d have, that we’ve been three weeks without it.”

From the starting team put out against Carbery Rangers in the semi-final, four players — John Kerins, Colm Scully, Eoin Comyns and Eoghan McGreevey — did not see a single minute of game-time during the replay defeat to Nemo 12 months. The same applies to Colm Barrett and Conor Dennehy, both of whom were used as subs against Rosscarbery.

“Over the winter, when I was deciding whether or not I was going to fall back in with the Barrs, you know you need to find more players, somebody that will give you that extra edge or few per cent.

“I’ll give credit to the players. We brought in six subs against Rosscarbery and every single one of them put their hand up. They made an impact. There was a night here recently and we had 39 training. That creates its own headaches, good headaches.”