'I am a pragmatist' - Kerry boss Jack O'Connor coy on agreeing to Cork's Páirc Uí Rinn request

'Does a home venue make a difference? Absolutely.'

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor: “It disappoints me that as many Kerry supporters as would want to go to the game probably won’t get to the game.”

Kerry manager Jack O’Connor has kept tight-lipped on whether or not he was in favour of the Kerry County Board accommodating Cork’s request to have Saturday’s Munster SFC semi-final returned to Páirc Uí Rinn.

Kerry chairman Patrick O’Sullivan acknowledged on these pages last week that not everybody in the county was agreeable to the board’s decision to accept Cork’s request to play the game in Páirc Uí Rinn, but when asked if he was among those unhappy with the decision, O’Connor kept his powder dry.

“I was happy to sit down and have a conversation about it and to come to a decision with the three parties involved,” replied the Kerry manager when asked if he was for or against travelling to Páirc Uí Rinn.

The manager was similarly schtum when pressed for his thoughts on whether Kerry had ceded psychological ground to Cork by agreeing to have Páirc Uí Rinn included in the counties’ home and away arrangement.

And on any advantage Cork might hope to mine from enjoying home comforts, O’Connor is hoping enough Kerry supporters can get their hands on tickets to neutralise “the perceived advantage Cork would have”.

“Does a home venue make a difference? Aabsolutely. We went up to Newbridge in the first round of the League and Newbridge is a help to Kildare because it has a unique atmosphere up there, tight ground, and all the rest of it.

“Now, Páirc Uí Rinn is a good-sized pitch, but it has the feel of a pitch that plays relatively tight because of the proximity of the fence to the sideline and stuff like that.”

One area of disappointment for the Kerry manager from the venue fallout is that not all Kerry followers interested in attending the game will be able to procure a ticket given Páirc Uí Rinn’s 11,000 capacity.

“It disappoints me that as many Kerry supporters as would want to go to the game probably won’t get to the game.”

O’Connor was adamant that the venue controversy, which was only resolved last week, in no way affected Kerry’s preparations.

“We just trained away and there was only one night when I asked the player leadership group what the opinion was of the players, they gave me their opinion, I informed the county board of what the players’ opinion was, and that fed into the decision of the county board.

“Obviously, the county board wanted to protect the integrity of the Munster championship. That message came through loud and clear to us. Sure, who wants to get a walkover in a game?

“The second thing is: the players and management wanted certainty about the fixture. Learning the lessons from last year, it must have been very difficult for the Kerry players preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final and not knowing if there is a game this weekend, the next weekend, or the weekend following.

“We wanted as a group to bring the uncertainty to an end and have certainty about the fixture so we could mentally prepare for the game. That was foremost in our mind.

“We won’t be going back in hindsight saying that was a bad decision or it wasn’t a bad decision. The decision has been made. I am a pragmatist, if nothing else.”

On the injury front, a leg injury means newcomer Dan O’Donoghue will sit out the trip to Páirc Uí Rinn. The corner-back, who was arguably the find of Kerry’s successful McGrath Cup and League campaigns, is to see a specialist in the coming days with a view to getting the all-clear to return training.

There was confirmation also that Mike Breen’s inter-county season is over because of a persistent hamstring injury which has hampered the defender since the beginning of the year. Breen lined out in Kerry’s opening McGrath Cup game in early January, but has not pulled on the green and gold since.

A more recent hamstring injury picked up by Greg Horan means the Austin Stacks midfielder is another ruled out for the Cork game.

David Moran and Stefan Okunbor, neither of whom saw game-time in the league because of groin and shoulder injuries respectively, are available for selection this weekend, as are Paul Murphy and Seán O’Shea. 33-year-old Moran has not played a single minute for Kerry in 2022 following the groin injury he suffered in last December’s Kerry county final.