Jack O'Connor bemused by Kerry's doubters after Cork win

'I was surprised even with some of the media questions I was asked after the game above in Cork. The media was still very doubtful about us, but we felt that was a big win'

IN THE HOTSEAT: Manager Jack O'Connor poses for a portrait during a Kerry football media conference at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney, Kerry, ahead of the 2023 All-Ireland SFC final between Kerry and Dublin at Croke Park. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

All-consuming. When Jack O’Connor answered that Irish Examiner GAA podcast question after Kerry’s 2021 All-Ireland semi-final loss, that was the precise phrase he settled on to articulate the Kerry football tradition.

Did he still harbour aspirations of taking charge of his native county for a third time? Of course he did. There is an allure there, he stressed. As mega as Manchester United. It is everything down here. Every pocket of the county wants to chat football.